Heart of Courage
by Blizzaga Saga
Summary: Saria/Link. The dead are rising in Hyrule Field as they did long ago when the King of Evil ruled. The Hylians have barricaded themselves in the overcrowded Castle Town, and a boy's quest to save his friend becomes a quest to save his kingdom.
1. A Timid Soul

_Blizzaga Saga_: I wrote this years ago, but it had serious flaws and I never finished it, so _Rogue 2k8_ and I are working together to edit/resurrect it. This is another one of those "A new Link goes on a new adventure" stories. It takes place many decades after Ocarina of Time and features Saria, a new Link, other familiar faces, and some original characters. Enjoy!

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Chapter 1: "A Timid Soul"

Link heard nothing over the wind shaking the trees; the usual quiet, the reason he came here, was lost to the strange weather. Finding it hard to focus with the wild gusts chilling him, he felt as dull as the overcast sky, but he continued nonetheless. Though it unnerved him that someone could approach and watch without him knowing, the same determination that brought him here every day pushed him forward. He would get stronger. He would get faster. He would get _better_.

The normally simple task of attaching targets to random places within the forest clearing proved difficult with the breeze, and when he resigned himself to practicing archery without them, the intense wind blew his sweaty bangs into his eyes. Small whirlwinds stirred up leaves and dirt, carrying the arrows from his light child's bow off course. For half an hour he defied the weather, but at length he conceded that worthwhile training was impossible right now.

Disappointed, he stashed his bow and unsheathed a small dull sword, but holding the poses he had known for years tired him out unusually quickly. Everything he had practiced countless times was suddenly awkward and taxing, and before long he placed his hands on his knees, panting. Where was his usual energy?

Angry with himself, he resolved to try again later and walked the short path leading back to town, dragging his feet across dirt and rocks. He felt inexplicably heavy, graceless, like he had never exercised before and was moving about for the first time in his life. When he stumbled, the wind tricked him into thinking he heard a girlish giggle from a bush off to the side. He froze self-consciously and peered in the bush's direction, but no one was there. He kept going and shook his head, ignoring the effect it had on his headache.

In the village outside the buffer provided by the trees, the wind blew more aggressively, adding to the chill he'd felt all day. He decided to go home and warm up before a voice called out.

"Hey, Link!"

Deep, confident, and cheerful…He recognized it immediately. "Hey, you're back," he replied hoarsely but enthusiastically.

From the town gate, a young man with a large sword strapped to his back and a smirk on his face ventured to meet him. A foot and a half taller than Link, he came to a stop in front of the boy, standing proudly with his arms crossed. Poise and strength radiated from him, and Link felt better able to compose himself in his presence.

"How's it going, kid? Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah…but…" Link looked around, taking in the peace he felt from the abandoned town.

The young man smiled down at him before taking a seat on the edge of the town's well. "We're all going to miss Kakariko. Lots of memories. You and I have certainly left our mark in that forest clearing. Still, I bet you're looking forward to getting out of here and joining the others, aren't ya? Most everyone's gone already. It's like a ghost town."

"Are we leaving tomorrow?" Link could tell that the warrior had to concentrate to hear his voice over the wind.

"No. Castle Town is really crowded right now with all of Kakariko's people living there. They need time to make more room. I'll take the next group in a few days, and when I get back I'll take you and the last group."

Link took a seat next to him. "…I don't know if I'm ready to live with that many people," he admitted hesitantly.

"I hate to say it, but you're going to have to. Times are hard, and we all have to make sacrifices. I know you're uncomfortable around other people, but you'll get used to it. Besides, I heard they just opened up a school to teach people swordsmanship so they can defend themselves if the monsters get worse. You ought to join. Orca's getting too old to look after your training, and I'm not around regularly enough to check on your progress. If you go, you'll learn, gain some new rivals, and maybe even make a few friends too. If you quit fooling around with your bow and that little ocarina and really apply yourself with the sword, you'll go far. We need good fighters in dangerous times like these."

"You know I don't play the ocarina anymore. My dad says it's a waste of time. We can't bother with silly things like that with Hyrule in the shape it's in now."

Stan's grin was as broad as his chest. "That's a very grown-up decision. Orca would be proud to hear you say that."

"I know."

"I haven't had a chance to talk to you much about it, but how have you been coping these past few months? With all the monsters popping up lately, you probably haven't been able to leave the village in weeks."

"It's okay…I always have the woods if I feel I need to get away."

"That's good to hear. I'm sorry you and Orca are last to leave. Some of the others were impatient. I guess they didn't feel safe."

"It's fine…" Link said. There was a pause while the taller of the two ran a hand through his short brown hair, likely tired from his latest journey. Link was tired as well: his eyes felt heavy, though it was not even supper time. A question lingered on his mind, one he'd wanted to ask for weeks. "Is it scary escorting people to Castle Town?"

"Nope! Nothing out there can scare me. I'm Stan the Man! As long as I'm strong and have a sword, I'll make it in this life. No monsters can touch me, and the ones that have come close have only made me stronger!" Link stared in shock. Stan was stronger than he'd been before? Was that even possible? "So I trust you've been keeping up with your sword practice? Orca probably nags you all the time about it. Have you gotten any better? I hope you haven't been wasting your time shooting little twigs at things while I was away."

"I've been practicing, but I'm not any better. I might have actually gotten worse," he said dejectedly.

The man eyed him critically. "Hey, you all right? You look like you're about to fall asleep."

"Y-yes, I'm fine."

The swordsman did not look convinced. "Are you sure? You're a bit pale, and your voice is even quieter than normal. We can wait a day to spar if you need it."

Link shook his head forcefully. "No, this is part of my training. Dad will be upset with me if I slack off."

A roaring laughter erupted from the man. "Ah ha ha! Good for you! Orca always was hard on people. Brings back memories. Well, if you're sure, let's get started!"

Despite his conviction, Link did not feel like getting up just yet. "But…out here?"

"Don't worry. No one's watching, if that's what you're worried about, especially not Orca. The guy hardly leaves the house these days."

"He's…been really sad about that."

"I know. I hope I never live long enough to have my strength leave me. So to make sure that never happens, you have to become good enough to kill me, okay?" Link did not mention how strongly he doubted that would ever happen as the two stood and unsheathed their weapons.

Link cringed at his performance. They did not spar: rather, Stan tested Link's defenses. But although Stan did not make full use of his abilities, Link had an unusually difficult time defending. He was certainly trying: the boy's face showed the utmost concentration. It also showed fatigue, however.

Stan slowed down to give his opponent time to find his rhythm, but at length it became clear this would not happen. He sighed and sheathed his sword. As Link breathed deeply to catch his breath, he hung his head low, already knowing what would come next.

"You're lying about being okay. Your performance today was terrible. You're sick or tired or something's bothering you, and we're done here until you get over it. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Stan…"

Sympathy overcame him, seeing the forlorn youth. "Ah, don't look so depressed. Everyone has bad days. I'm sure you'll be back on track to becoming a swordsman in no time!"

Link did not lift his gaze. "Thanks…"

"Anyway, I'm going to talk to the next group I have to lead. You know, make sure they're ready and all that. I'll see you later."

Link let his long blonde hair hang in front of his eyes as Stan left so no one could tell how ashamed he was. Stan was right, of course, but Link knew his father would hear no excuses for his recent regression in skill level. He wanted to avoid that discussion for as long as possible, but he was so cold. Cold, tired, achy, and nauseous. He needed to rest and warm up indoors, and that meant going home. A frigid blast of air hit him propelled the shivering boy toward his house.

He easily navigated the empty paths between wooden buildings. The normally busy town was dead, noise coming only from the relentless wind and the boy's movements. He thought to himself that running through the village while it was like this would make him very happy if he were well. In this solitude he was free from the stares of others, and their words could not reach him.

Hurrying through the door to one of the smaller, more neglected buildings, he quickly shut it against the wind.

"Link? Is that you?" a congested voice called out.

"Yes, dad…"

A tall old man shuffled toward him. The one-room house was barren, its inhabitants having packed away most everything in preparation of their leaving—Link could not remember a time when less swords and spears hung from the wall—but Orca still had difficulty moving through it.

Once an immensely powerful man, his strength had left him in old age. His thin, wrinkled body was plainly visible on his shirtless form. Unable to move much in recent years, his arms were reduced to twigs, and little folds of fat had replaced what Link remembered as a toddler to be nothing but muscle. Long white hairs covered his chest, back, arms, and shoulders, cradling crumbs and specks of dirt, while nothing remained on the top of his head. His eyes reflected no energy, only the sorrow of a tired used-up man, an emptiness which frightened Link when he looked into them for too long.

Orca walked for what Link presumed to be the first time that day. The labored breathing and only half-attentive stare which had become the norm accompanied his strained voice. "Have you completed your training for the day?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. I would like to see you practice some day when I am more mobile."

Link did not reply to that. He took his leather boots off and placed them against a wall, noticing that the usual clutter he kept in that spot was gone. "This place is so bare…but there's never been much here other than battle gear, has there?" Orca did not answer, and Link suspected his poor hearing was to blame. He spoke in a loud voice reserved for his father. "Everyone else's houses used to be filled with so many extra things before we started leaving. You remember, don't you? It always seemed silly to you and me that they had that extra stuff. It probably made it hard for them to leave. Do you think you'll miss our house when we leave?"

Orca thought for a moment. "A warrior can make his home anywhere."

The blonde's gaze fell to the floor. "…I see. I'm going to bed."

"So soon? Is it late already? I confess I haven't been outside today."

"The sun hasn't set, but I'm not feeling well." He knew exactly what to say next to prevent a lecture. "I'm going to rest so I can train twice as hard tomorrow."

His words had the desired effect: for the briefest moment, the old man's eyes lit up, in pride or happiness perhaps. "If that's the case, then I won't disturb you. Now that I'm on my feet, I think I'll get something to eat. All the food in this house has gone bad, and I'm tired of the same thing every day."

"Will you need help?"

"I won't go very far. Besides, a little exercise will be good for me. I'll be gone for a while, though: Stan's supposed to be back today. I need to talk to him about what will become of this village when we leave. You'll probably be asleep when I get back."

"Okay. Good night, dad." With great effort, Orca put on a heavy shirt and left. The wind that came in before the door shut again motivated Link to get in bed right away. He did not even bother to change out of his simple brown shirt and leggings before pulling the blanket over him.

He was so tired that he expected to pass out the instant he got into bed, but he was frustrated to find that lying down increased the pain in his head and, worse, made his nose stuffy. Apparently falling asleep would be just as difficult as the rest of his day had been.

Rest came intermittently, embracing him for a few minutes at a time before releasing him into the painful realm of consciousness again. He fought on, determined to get at least a little sleep before he had to start training tomorrow, but just before he succeeded, his stomach lurched.

In a panic he rose and rushed outside, where he retched and retched until dry heaves racked his body, and then the boy collapsed in an exhausted heap. Staring up at the night sky, he thought miserably that it wouldn't be long before the sun rose and his morning exercises began.

Despite his fatigue, he was now wide awake thanks to all the vomiting and decided he might as well empty his bladder now that he had emptied his stomach. A minute later he added his boots, weapon, and a thick long-sleeve tunic to his outfit and was on his way to the woods at the village's end.

He reveled in the silence, but as he looked at the surroundings he'd known his whole life, he wondered whether life would be better or worse after he left. He could not help having pessimistic thoughts when he considered the great numbers of people he'd have to endure in his new living space.

He walked without paying much attention to anything until voices reached him from around a house corner. People were talking about him. He might have changed routes and kept walking, but when he recognized one of the voices as Orca's, Link quieted his footsteps and pressed his back against the wall.

Link recognized the voice of Mr. Brandon, Brittany's father. "Why don't you ease up on the lad tomorrow, Orca? He's clearly sick. He won't accomplish anything by training until he's better."

"Training is only meaningful if done regularly," said Orca, solemn and reasonable as always. "He still has much to learn."

"He's made incredible progress in the past few years! No one his age could beat him in a duel."

"Yet he is still no match for a trained adult."

"Of course he's not! He's a kid!" the angry voice of Brittany's mother cut in. "Honestly, what do you want from him? He's not Stan! He's only fourteen!"

A short silence followed. Link thought he had lost their conversation in the wind until Orca spoke in a tone Link had never heard from him: smug, knowing, almost amused. Orca was _never_ amused.

"No. He will be even better than Stan someday." His eyes widening, Link wondered if his father was well. Surely he wasn't serious.

"Link will never be like Stan. Stan is probably one of the best swordsmen in Hyrule, and if all goes well he could become a knight someday. The royal family has taken great interest in him since he began leading Kakariko's evacuation. I'm not saying your boy doesn't have potential, but it's unfair to ask him to duplicate Stan's progress. Give him a break."

"I understand what you are saying, but his training must continue."

"Orca…there's no easy way to say this. We've been talking it over. Your 'training' is dangerous to Link's health. He's been getting sick and losing his appetite too often lately. Have you seen how much weight the boy's lost?"

"He hardly ever smiles anymore," the mother added. "When was the last time you hugged him? He flinches when you approach like he's afraid you're going to punish him. He's taking your teachings about not letting emotions control you to an extreme that just isn't healthy for a growing young man. Aside from you and Stan, my daughter is the only one he'll open up to."

"All I will say is that I have my reasons."

"I'd hoped this day would never come, friend. I've put this talk off for so long hoping the issue would resolve itself. But as you've grown older, you've…you've become, well…"

"I am not senile, if that's what you're trying to say."

"Well it's either that, or you're so desperate to prove you still have a stake in this world that you're trying to outdo the success you had training Stan."

"My reasons have nothing to do with selfish desire. I am preparing him."

"For what? And how? By keeping him sick?"

"I am not trying to weaken him. As for what, I'm afraid you would not understand."

"We can't let him keep living like this. When we go to Castle Town, Link will live with us. And you will live with us too, if that's what it takes. But the training will stop until he has more than just skin on his bones."

The group argued, and unable to listen anymore, Link ran away in shock until he reached the forest's edge. His back to the village, he let loose a stream of yellow water while he caught his breath, and he found to his horror that he had no opinion of the events he had witnessed. Did he want to stay with his father? He did not know. Living with Brittany would be nice. Still, Orca was his dad.

Any chance he might have had of getting a good night's rest was gone. Link needed more than ever to be alone and collect his thoughts. The forest clearing was not an option—he could not see well enough under the trees at night to get there—so instead he took the nearby path to the town's graveyard.

Unfortunately, laughter and loud young voices greeted him there. Apparently the village's remaining children had gathered for one last night of fun before they left. They sat around a bonfire, and in their merriment they didn't seem to care how late it was.

"Will you quiet down?" Dampe, the nocturnal grave keeper, snapped irritably as he dug a new grave. "You've no right to bother me or the dead with your inane happiness."

"It's okay, Mr. Dampe!" one of the kids said cheerfully. "We're just telling ghost stories! I bet the dead love being talked about!"

Old, ugly, hunchbacked, and pale from many years of only coming out at night, Dampe made a frightening figure as he glowered at them. "You know nothing of the dead. Why couldn't you have done this in town? The dead and I just want to be left alone, so get out!"

"Try and make us!" one of the bolder boys challenged. In response, Dampe dropped his shovel. He narrowed his eyes at the boy before placing a pair of glasses over them.

"Those may help you see us, but they won't help you catch us!" The kids eagerly stood for a game of chase, but Dampe shook his head.

"I will not force you out. If you children knew anything of the horrors of the dead, you would piss your pants and run home crying for your mothers. Therefore…" he grinned maliciously, taking a place at their circle. "I will enlighten you."

They all cheered and sat back down, and a girl of eleven noticed Link. "Hey, Link!" Her long red hair shook as she waved energetically. "Dampe's gonna tell us a ghost story! Come sit with us!"

"Don't invite Link! He's weird!" several protested, but Link made his way next to her. Her smile widened when he offered a small one, ignoring the effect the fire's heat had on his tired eyes.

"Hello, Brittany."

"Now then…Do you know the full tale of the Tragedy of Time?"

"Aw, Dampe, not that one! We hear it all the time from our parents!" There was a great clamor of agreement before Dampe silenced it with a snarl.

"That story is an important part of Hyrule's history, possibly the most important poem ever written! Everyone should know it. Besides, I don't mean to tell you what you've already heard. I'm going to tell you the parts of the story your parents held back, the gruesome details they thought your young minds were too weak to handle."

Appeased and eager, the crowd stopped complaining and huddled closer to the man trying to get rid of them.

"You know the basic story: 130 years ago, the King of Evil attempted to take over Hyrule, and by trying to stop him two ignorant children accidentally granted him access to the Triforce. But the two children became the Hero of Time and Princess of Destiny and defeated him, saving the world. You were told the story has a happy ending, but the story does not end there."

"You mean the Princess and the Hero did more after that? Did they get married?" Brittany asked excitedly, and several boys made a show of being disgusted while Link raised an eyebrow at her.

"None of what they did after their adventure is known. What I meant was that you were not told the correct story. Your parents coddled you with sugar-coated fairy tales, but think, you little pests, why would a _tragedy_ have a happy ending?"

"You mean…it didn't? Did the Hero die?"

Dampe laughed and flashed a creepy grin in the glow of the fire. "No, but I bet that if we could go inside his head, we'd find that he wishes he would die, wishes he _could_ die."

Most of the audience was still excited, but a few began to look nervous. As Dampe peered at them through his glasses, he seemed to be daring them to muster up their courage.

"The truth is that there is no happy ending, because the story is not over. It may never be over. By allowing Ganondorf to touch the Triforce, the two children doomed Hyrule and themselves to an eternal struggle. Every few generations, the Hero of Time and Princess of Destiny will be reborn to fight the King of Evil once more for the Triforce. If they lose, evil will grip this kingdom forever. But if they win, there is no reward, for evil never rests: they will continue to be reborn and fight for the safety of Hyrule until the end of time, knowing that if they mess up even once the land is doomed. _That_ is the Tragedy of Time: to fight forever, and to have no choice in the matter." He threw a glance at the new grave he had dug. "So many have died, all for a senseless battle that will never cease. Infants, monsters, Hylians, Gorons…"

Dampe wove horrifically detailed accounts of the mangled bodies he had buried and the legendary slaughters in the Tragedy of Time, and Link stiffened when Brittany hugged his arm for security. Just before Link was about to lead her away, a new arrival broke the spell of fear the grave keeper had cast.

"Stop scaring them, Dampe."

"Stan!" many of the children exclaimed, standing to hug or tackle him.

"Hey, now, let's not hurt anyone!" he joked.

"Oh, it's the village idiot," Dampe deadpanned, somehow more annoyed than before. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You have no right to give them nightmares like this," he answered fiercely.

"They came to bother me, not the other way around. I suppose that's a bit much for you to understand."

"I'm taking them to their homes."

"But Stan, we can't leave yet!" one whined. "We still haven't heard a good ghost story!"

Stan chuckled, his fierceness melting into his usual good humor. "All right, fine. I'll tell you _one_ story, and then you all have to go back home, okay?"

Dampe scowled. "Ugh, great. I have to endure yet more idiocy. Be sure you all leave after this."

"Be sure you never frighten these children again," Stan shot back. The old man simply returned to his digging. "Now then, which story do you all want to hear?"

"Tell us about the Stalchildren and the Stalfos!"

Everyone voiced their agreement, and a subtle sadness flickered across Stan's face. Link feared the consequences of the suggestion, but the melancholy disappeared before anyone else detected it. Stan's expression was no longer cheerful, but pensive. Link decided it did not suit him.

"Very well. Long ago when the goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore were still shaping this world, they created a place south of Hyrule called the Lost Woods. It was a dark, cursed forest where a race of children lived. It's said that the light of the goddesses could not reach them through the cover of the trees, so they became wicked and mischievous and never grew into adults. The forest children, the Kokiri, are immortal, so they still exist today, and they torture any foolish enough to enter their domain."

Link watched the changes in his expression carefully. Stan was becoming engrossed in his story as though reliving a memory. The others mistook the storyteller's passion for enthusiasm and crowded closer.

"Many Hylians have gone there to search for treasure and mythical creatures called fairies, but when they enter the Lost Woods, the Kokiri play tricks on them. The Hylians get lost and wander aimlessly until they die, but only their flesh expires. Their souls and skeletons remain, forever wandering and confused. They become Stalfos if they are adults or Stalchildren if they are young, and these are the creatures that have been popping up across Hyrule Field, the reason we have to leave Kakariko. The scary part is that no one knows how to stop them. They can be destroyed, but it seems that no matter how many the knights of Hyrule defeat, more appear to terrorize the kingdom. The—"

A shrill cry cut him off, and everyone turned to where a screaming little boy pointed, his eyes wide with terror. Rising from one of the graves at the back of the cemetery, a purple mist which had no place in the natural world took the shape of a phantom carrying a lantern. The children yelled and backed away while Link and the two adults looked on in shock.

"It's a Poe!" Dampe gasped in disbelief.

Transparent at first, the apparition gradually took on solid colors: black for its face, dark purple for the rest of its body, and a bright burning yellow for its evil eyes. Floating above the ground, it laughed and swung its lantern in glee as it surveyed its surroundings. The flame in its lantern glowed more intensely when its gaze fell on the living creatures before it, and Link gulped as it flew through the bonfire directly at them, ready to burn as many people as it could.

Even in his groggy state, Link had already drawn his sword and positioned himself between the enemy and the children. But as quickly as the situation escalated, Stan raced forward with a speed Link thought was impossible even for the grown warrior and slashed his massive blade in two mighty arcs. The ghost faded away into nothing, letting out an inhuman screech that pierced the darkness.

All were still for a moment while the fire continued to crackle and roar. Stan kept his sword drawn and looked around warily for anything else that might have appeared. When it was clear the ordeal was over, he turned on Dampe.

"Is your hatred of me really so strong that it created a Poe?!"

Dampe was all too ready to lash back. "A ghost appears and you blame me? This is beyond even your stupidity! If you were good at anything other than swinging that weapon around—like _thinking_, let's say—you'd be getting everyone home instead of berating me!"

Stan turned toward the group. "We're going home, everyone." They followed him obediently, too frightened to separate, but Link noticed the pack was short by one adult.

"Are you coming, Mr. Dampe?" he asked timidly.

Even in times of emergency, the deformed Hylian managed to look disgusted with everyone around him. "I'd rather stay and die than follow that fool."

"Stan only means to help."

Dampe laughed darkly. "You know, Link, the other kids are annoying, but you're all right. You always tread so…_carefully_." Dampe unnerved him, staring at him with those glasses on. Link could not look back. He felt as though the old man were peering into his soul and judging him. "I hope your dad doesn't succeed in making you into another Stan. Hyrule doesn't need any more morons."

"Everyone else is already gone," Link replied, still not looking directly at him. "We should hurry."

"I've told you my decision. I'm the grave keeper; it's my job to guard this place from the living _and_ the dead. I must see if I can calm the spirits buried here."

"B-but—"

"Go back to the group," he said, losing his patience. "I will not budge."

Link left him and pushed his aching body to catch up with the others. Back in the village, many had already disbanded and were fleeing in various directions to their houses, but the shaken Brittany had not yet left Stan's side.

"Link, take her home."

With a nod, he did just that. Too petrified to speak, she stayed closer to him than was necessary, and he could not find any words to say that didn't sound stupid in his mind.

"Link!" Mrs. Brandon greeted with surprise when he opened the door to her house. "What brings you here? Oh my goodness! Brittany, what happened to you?"

He resisted the urge to pull away when Brittany grabbed his hand. "A Poe appeared in the graveyard," he explained, his throat suddenly sore. "Everyone's fine. Stan destroyed it and is taking everyone home. Dampe's keeping watch in case more appear."

He willingly stepped aside as the little girl's mother hugged her. "It's okay, baby. Dampe, Stan, your father, and I will make sure nothing happens to you. And Link is here too, right?"

Link did not expect to be brought into this discussion. "Y-yes," he stammered.

"Now scoot up to bed, okay?"

Brittany made to do so, but first wrapped her arms around him in a wordless expression of thanks. Link awkwardly embraced the girl a full head shorter than he before she ran up a set of stairs to her room. Seeing nothing else to do, he moved to leave.

"Link."

He froze in his tracks. "Y-yes?"

"Thank you for looking after her. She's lucky to have a friend like you."

"It's nothing…"

"She really looks up to you. You're like Stan, except you actually make time to be around her."

There was a pause while she looked at him in a motherly way and he shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "Where's Mr. Brandon?"

"Oh, he's talking to Orca somewhere. The three of us were discussing something important a few minutes ago, but I got tired and came back."

"I'm tired too. I'm going home."

"Hold up a moment. There's something I want to talk with you about first. It has to do with what my husband and your father are discussing." He continued facing the door, unable to bear the emotion in her eyes. "I…I'd hoped to put this off, but somehow the timing seems right. Brittany really likes you, and she needs someone strong to lean on in strange times like this. Link…When we go to Castle Town, would you like to—"

To his relief, dry heaves racked his body just in time to keep her from finishing her question. He rushed outside and fell onto all fours while spit and chunks of partially-digested food dribbled from his mouth.

Mrs. Brandon was instantly by his side again. "Oh, you poor thing! I didn't know you were still this sick. Come on, let's get you home."

"I can make it myself," he insisted between coughs, but she pulled him up by the arm, making his vision swim, and led him to his house. He was too weak to do anything but let himself be dragged.

He didn't realize he was home until she removed his boots and forced him onto his bed. "Let's get you tucked in. I see Orca's still not back yet." She shook her head disapprovingly. "He should be here taking care of you…but I suppose that can't be helped."

His eyes closed, and she dared to place a palm on his forehead. Immediately his eyes snapped open and he flinched away from her, backing away as far as the small bed would allow, and he felt guilty when Mrs. Brandon looked horribly sad.

"Try and get some sleep, dear," she soothed. "I'm of course worried about my kid, but I'm worried about you too. Don't push yourself too hard tomorrow or my family won't be able to do anything but worry about you. I'll put a bucket by the bed in case you have to throw up again. Good night."

He relaxed once she left. To his pleasant surprise, his head didn't hurt as much as it had when he lay in bed an hour ago. Rather than a throbbing pain which allowed rest only between pulses, he now felt a dull ache numbed by fatigue. Sleep came easily.

* * *

"Time to get up, son."

"Orca, don't you dare!"

Link instantly regretted opening his eyes. Thought dim, the light shining through his window exacerbated his headache, and as he squinted, two quarreling figures came into focus.

"Go back to sleep, Link."

"Let's get some food in us," Orca said, completely ignoring Mr. Brandon.

The boy groaned and slowly sat up, disappointed to find he felt only a little better than he had yesterday. How long had he slept? Judging from the angle at which the sunlight hit him, not very long.

"You're pale as a ghost," Mr. Brandon declared loudly, both to inform Link and to make a point to Orca. "Lie back down. Your father and I will talk outside."

"That is not necessary," Orca informed the other adult calmly. "I've said all I want to."

"It's okay, Mr. Brandon," Link said weakly, hoping to diffuse the tension. "I'm fine. I'm going to get up now. I have a lot to do today…right, dad?" He did his best to mask the effort it took to stand.

"Right."

Mr. Brandon silently fumed, knowing he had lost. "We will discuss this more at a later time. Make sure you eat a good breakfast, Link. You need to replenish your strength."

He exited, leaving father and son to themselves, and Link asked if they had any food left.

"Bread is all we have. It's hard to make food with everyone gone. I'm not much hungry, so you can have it."

"Thank you. I'm going to the forest clearing to eat."

Link wobbled on his feet and left quickly, though the old man wouldn't have been able to follow no matter his pace. He needed to get away from his father, away from everyone. He felt too weak to endure another person's presence.

His sick body needed food and sleep, but since he was forbidden one, he would have to get as much of the other as possible to make up for it. He restrained his eating to a slow pace for fear of throwing up again, but the bread was still gone long before he reached the forest's edge. Suddenly he had nothing to do but start training again, but he stopped before disappearing into the trees.

Stan. He needed to talk to Stan. Stan would know what to do. He hadn't seen the warrior on his walk through the village, but Stan wasn't like everyone else and wouldn't be sleeping at this hour. At once the fight with the Poe came to mind, and Link changed course to the graveyard.

Once there, though, he found he was utterly alone. He walked to where the fight had taken place, but Stan did not magically appear the moment his feet landed on the correct bit of cobblestone. Link unsheathed his sword, trying to remember the fluid motions Stan had used last night. He had seen the swordsman use that double-strike before, a deadly sequence of directional attacks which took advantage of his absurd strength.

"Fancy yourself a fighter, boy?"

Link almost dropped his weapon. "D-Dampe? I'm sorry! I thought you were..."

"Normally I would sleep during the day, but after last night I thought it best to stay up a bit longer than usual."

"Oh…" Link looked down. How did Dampe always know what he was going to say?

"Don't look so embarrassed. Why are you here? Don't tell me you came looking for that fool."

Link was relieved that the old man did not have his glasses on; it made talking to him easier. "I…need his help with something."

"Indeed. Quite the situation you're in with Mr. and Mrs. Brandon." Link looked at him inquisitively. "You didn't think I knew? I hear all the nonsensical musings of the idiots in this village. They want to force you into their family so their daughter will feel safe. How noble," he muttered sarcastically. "Most girls are married off between twelve and sixteen. When Brittany reaches that age, they might even try to marry you to her. What a mess. Do you honestly expect good advice from Stan?"

"He's always helped me in the past," Link asserted, "and he knows my dad as well as I do. He's bound to have an opinion on…on…"

"On whether Orca's gone soft in the onion? On whether you should abandon your old man?" Dampe shook his head, annoyed. "Do yourself a favor. Make the decision yourself and don't listen to any advice that knucklehead—"

"He's not a knucklehead!" Link surprised himself with that outburst, small though it was, and felt ashamed for letting his emotions get the best of him. He waited with baited breath for a scolding, but Dampe only laughed.

"Right," he snickered. "My mistake. I wouldn't want to insult your precious _hero_. He's already left to take the next group to Castle Town. The Poe that appeared last night has everyone spooked, so the second-to-last group left early."

"But," Link said quietly, "I could really use his help. I don't want to have to choose."

"Making tough choices and not letting others make them for you is part of growing up, and you're going to have to grow up fast: the last time someone saw a Poe was 130 years ago when the King of Evil ruled. For one to appear now has to be an ill omen. People will be relying on you in the days ahead, I'm sure."

He swallowed the phlegm in his throat. "You're right. Thank you, Dampe."

Dampe smiled for one of the first times Link could remember. "Get out of here and make your choice. I don't need anyone pestering me."

Link resolved to make his decision after he finished the day's training, and for the next few hours he went through the mechanical motions of stretching, falling into different poses, and swinging his sword within the forest clearing. His ailing body protested every step of the way, but he pushed himself as he did every day. He trained with the same goal which always motivated him: to improve until one day he could think of himself as something other than weak.

The weather was warm come midday, not at all like it had been yesterday. The sunlight which reached him through the trees gave him a headache, and moving made it worse. Feeling the effects of sleep deprivation, he sat against a tree and gave in to his body's needs.

* * *

Link woke to a man calling his name. The footsteps accompanying the voice were too clumsy and unsure of the path to be Stan's. With a yawn, he announced his presence, and Mr. Brandon appeared in the clearing.

"Are you busy?"

Link tensed, still undecided on the question he anticipated would come next. "No. I just finished practicing."

"Good. Brittany is sick. She wants to see you."

Link climbed to his feet despite his nausea. "Is she all right?"

"She has a very high fever. It's probably whatever you have. Thank goddesses the doctor didn't leave with Stan's group today. He's already been by to drop off some medicine. She'll be fine, but she wants to see you before she goes to sleep."

"Of course. Of course I'll come see her," he responded automatically, picking up his weapon and following the man down the short trail.

"So…how are you feeling?"

"About leaving?"

"No, your health. I was surprised you could get out of bed this morning."

"I'm fine. My dad's taught me to be strong," Link replied, paying close attention to Mr. Brandon's reaction, but Brittany's father only joked in response.

"Right. You know, you've gotten pretty thin. Are you trying to lose weight to impress someone?"

The man was holding back a comment, Link could tell. He decided to push further. "He wants me to purify my body of all weakness." Neither Link nor his father had ever wanted Link to reach the state he was currently in, of course, but Link sensed more behind Mr. Brandon's actions than just wanting Brittany's friend to visit her, and he needed to know what.

"Oh. Well, becoming stronger is an admirable goal." The man was not speaking his heart. Clearly he wanted to avoid driving the boy off until they reached the house, but why?

They arrived before he could form an answer. On the second floor, Brittany was tucked snugly under a blanket. "Hi, Link!" she greeted happily despite her bedridden state. Her red hair framed a face which looked sickly pale by comparison.

He managed a small smile. At least her demeanor was normal. "Hi. How are you?"

"I have to meet your mother somewhere. Don't give Link any trouble while I'm away, all right? I won't be gone long."

A moment later, Link was the oldest person in the house. He stared wide-eyed at the exit, surprised and slightly offended by the bold move. Did Mr. Brandon really think that Link wouldn't notice something was amiss? Link knew in ordinary circumstances the two loving parents would never leave their sick child's side. They were manipulating him and Brittany somehow.

Brittany seemed ignorant to any ulterior motives. "Mom and dad said I have to sleep, but I'm not tired!"

"Good. Hopefully your condition isn't too serious, then."

"Did you and Stan fight yesterday?"

Even while sick, she had so much energy. Maybe he could learn something from her. "Yes, we sparred, but I didn't do so well. He beat me again."

"Stan says he's gotten even better in the past few weeks. Are you better too?"

Link sighed. "No. I don't think I'll ever catch up to him."

"I bet you've gotten stronger!" she insisted. "Mom says you practice all the time. She says you even practice too much. I bet you could beat a Poe any day."

"I'm glad we didn't have to find out. Stan was terrific last night, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, but you would've kicked that ghost's butt. I wasn't scared, 'cuz I knew you were there."

He chose not to call her out on that lie and instead smiled knowingly. "That was quite a yawn. Are you sure you're not sleepy?"

"Not at all!" she declared defiantly. "Will you play me a lullaby on your ocarina?"

Link's smile fell. He listened and looked around nervously, making sure they were in fact alone. Then he retrieved a small potato-shaped instrument from his tunic. "Are you sure you want me to?" She nodded eagerly. "Okay. But you have to promise you won't tell anyone, all right? Stan and my dad still don't know I've been practicing. This will be our little secret."

He smiled once more at the happiness in her eyes. She obviously felt special that he trusted her with this. He began to play the simple, slow lullaby he had played for her many times, and at various points she hummed along with it. By the end, her eyes closed. She wasn't asleep, but she certainly wasn't energetic anymore.

"Go to sleep," Link whispered gently. "You're more tired than you think. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"My birthday's coming up," she mumbled. "Are you getting me a present?"

"Maybe," he said in a tone that let her know the answer was yes. "Go to sleep. I'll see you later."

She obeyed. Not knowing what else to do, Link silently crept downstairs and stepped out of the house. Mr. Brandon would not be happy with him for leaving her alone, but Link suspected that the father—and perhaps the mother as well—had not gone far.

His hunch was correct; the couple waited for him outside. "Ah, Link! I was just about to head back in. How's the little one?"

"Sleeping," he answered. "Hello, Mrs. Brandon."

"Hello. Did she get to spend much time with you before she drifted off? She was quite insistent."

Something clicked in Link's mind, and now he was sure of their motives. "No. She fell asleep without a word. She was pretty out of it." A twitch of the lips betrayed the couple's disappointment, but they recovered quickly.

"Well, I'm glad she's finally getting some sleep. Thank you for watching her."

"You're welcome. Did you take care of your errand?"

"Yes. You can leave now if you want. We'll keep an eye on her."

On his way home, Link noticed that more people milled about now that the sun was higher, and he avoided their gazes as he walked by. Not many remained, even less than he had seen yesterday. They busied themselves gathering their belongings, and in his feverish state Link despaired at the work which awaited him until he remembered that he and Orca had finished days ago. They hadn't had much to pack.

For the first time in many days, Orca was already on his feet when Link returned. "Link."

"Yes, father?"

"I need to talk to you." Despite this statement, they stood in silence for several moments, neither used to communicating with the other. "I can't remember the last time we spoke about something other than training, but…you know I love you, right? I've been strict with you, and we've never spoken of it, but don't think my harshness stems from lack of love. I've struck you more times than I've hugged you, but I do it to make you stronger. You have a dangerous life ahead of you, I've no doubt."

It disgusted Link that he was uncomfortable talking to his own father. "I know, dad."

"I'm sorry you've been getting so sick lately. That is my fault. I just don't want you to slack off."

"This is about what will happen when we move, isn't it?"

"…Yes." He closed his eyes. "There's a good chance I will not be able to take care of you. Life in Castle Town will be very hard, and there's not much work an old man like me can do."

"But we have some money saved. We never buy anything other than food. There has to be at least fifty rupees in this house."

"I'm sure that sounds like a lot to you, but it will not last long."

Silence blew over them once more. "…I'm going to have to live with the Brandon's from now on."

"Yes. …Well, I'm going to see what needs to be done around the village. I trust you've completed today's exercises?" Link nodded sadly. "Good. You should do as much as you can before we move. I doubt finding a place to practice in Castle Town will be easy. Stan said he could hardly walk there without having to brush past someone."

Link understood that Orca was giving him silent permission to sleep by leaving, and he fell onto his bed gratefully. Between naps he thought about what living with Brittany—and possibly without his dad—would be like, now that he had made his decision. For the rest of the day he did little else but sleep and think.

* * *

To his happy astonishment, Link felt fantastic the next day: tired, but no longer achy or feverish for the first time in weeks. He started the day the same way he started every other day and devoted all his attention to training. No thought was spared for nonexistent ailments or for what to do about the conflict between his dad and Brittany's parents.

He actually looked forward to his new living situation. He still didn't fancy being around so many people, but it would be a nice break from the wordless monotony he and his father shared. His cheer created a confidence that carried over into his training. The path to becoming strong was clear again.

His good mood remained for the rest of the day, and before suppertime he ventured to Brittany's house to see her. Her parents barred him entrance, however.

"She's sleeping right now. I'm afraid she hasn't gotten any better. I'm sure she'd love to see you tomorrow, though."

He put her out of his mind and carried on training, daydreaming, and doing the chores involved with packing up a whole town. He remained optimistic, but when he tried to see her again the next day, the sight of her parents' expressions wiped the smile from his face.

"She's gotten worse. I'm sorry, Link, but she won't be able to see anyone today."

"She's worse? I thought the doctor came to see her."

Mr. Brandon struggled to keep the worry out of his voice. "His medicine isn't working. She hasn't woken since last night, and her fever just keeps rising."

"The doctor said that without medicine from Castle Town, she might die. There's no one left in the village who can make it across Hyrule Field safely, so we're going to wait until Stan gets back tomorrow and send him to buy a blue potion."

"Oh. All right…Let me know if there's anything I can do for her."

Stunned, Link left the scene, and at once a great guilt possessed him. He had spent time around her without any thought that he might inadvertently spread his illness. He brooded at home and thought once more about what his new life would be like. In particular, he wondered what he would do if Brittany died. Though young, she was his only friend excluding his father and Stan. He had always thought he could live without anyone, live the way Dampe did, but this belief was shaken by the realization of how much he really cared for the three most important people in his life.

Another thought came to him: it was still morning. He had not done his daily training yet, so he still felt energetic. He thought about how long it would be until Stan came back. Link's sword lay before him on the floor, halfway out of its sheathe as though begging to be used.

"Dad."

"Hm?"

"…I'm going out," he said and then rushed all over the house, gathering what rupees he could find into a pouch on his belt. He moved so quickly that he tripped and visited each potential money location more than once without realizing it.

Orca watched his son's frenzy in lazy, mute fascination, and his eyes lit up just as the boy left. Link ran to the gate of Kakariko, the only barrier between the village and Hyrule Field, and was going to run straight through when a voice stopped him.

"Link, wait!"

Link stopped and turned around to see Orca panting and walking to him as fast as his old body allowed. "Dad?"

"Link," he wheezed, "you must not go!"

"But Brittany—"

"I've heard, and I understand. But there's no guarantee she'll die if we wait an extra day for Stan to get back. You know how dangerous Hyrule Field is. There's a reason we built this huge gate. She could die if we wait, but _you_ could die if you _don't_ wait. I cannot allow you to go as you are now."

"Please, dad, you _have_ to let me go!"

"Not alone. You are still just a boy."

"It will be faster if I go by myself. Please, dad!" he begged. "Brittany needs help _now_!"

It was the first time in years Link had raised his voice to him. Orca appeared awed by the boy's dramatic insistence. "…Perhaps it is time, then," he said quietly, as though to himself.

Link heard him, though. "Time for what?"

"I will not allow you to venture forth unarmed." Link pointed to his sword in protest, and Orca shook his head. "That dulled scrap of metal is only fit for training. Let me give you a _real_ weapon." Link noticed that his father carried on his back a sword and shield, which he presently gave to him. "Take these. I can't say why, but it is of the utmost importance that you keep them near you at all times. Do this, and I'm sure you'll come back safely."

Link eyed them in wonder. Both sword and shield looked too big for him to use and were made of steel so polished he could see his reflection in it. They clearly were not cheap, yet they looked like they had never been used. "Father, I'm sure I've seen all your weapons, but I've never seen these before. Where did you get them?"

"There's no time for that," Orca replied sternly. "Get going."

Link paused, not understanding the situation. Then, "Thank you." He secured the items on his back, opened the gate, and bolted out into the world. Orca held the gate open and watched his son's retreating figure with a look of grim realization.


	2. An Angry Soul

Chapter 2: "An Angry Soul"

Link glided two at a time down the steps leading away from Kakariko's gate and sprinted at the bottom, where Hyrule Field expanded in all directions. Small patches of forest dotted the vast territory, but at first glance tall grass and wildflowers were the only obstacles to travel. It had been weeks since he gazed at the kingdom's central province, and in the late morning sun it was brilliant compared to the dull backgrounds of his birthplace.

He took the dirt path leading northwest, breathing deeply and savoring his first serious run in weeks. Though he had just gotten over his illness, freedom from the village invigorated him. He had little confidence when it came to archery or swordplay or fighting, but running was easy for him, as much time as he spent doing it. His jogs were the only times he ever felt proud of himself, and he tore along the path, quickly establishing a rhythm which reduced the awkward bouncing of his new sword and shield.

He saw the enormous outer walls of Castle Town even from his starting point, but he knew from experience that he had a long way to go. If he pushed himself—which he fully intended to do—he would arrive in less than two hours, but the length of the path he traveled on foot did not intimidate him. He worried more about the monsters which had been appearing lately. As far as he could see, he was the only moving object for miles, and he wanted to finish the trek before that changed.

Unfortunately, he quickly ran into trouble; there was a reason no one traveled across Hyrule Field anymore. Nearby patches of ground broke like bursting bubbles, and living skeletons rose from the earth. Picking up speed out of fear, he swerved off the path to circumnavigated the obstacles. His heart beat rapidly, but he calmed himself by remembering Stan's words. Stalchildren were much slower and less powerful than Stalfos. "I bet you could take down several at a time easily!" he remembered the older boy saying. Link repeated had never actually encountered the undead. That job was for Stan and the other heroes of Hyrule. But if Stan was sure Link could handle Stalchildren, Link was inclined to believe him. He just hoped he didn't run into the larger Stalfos.

Sensing a living presence, the Stalchildren increased in number, and Link was trapped inside a circle of the living dead after only fifteen minutes. He stopped and looked fearfully at them. He had never been this close: stories supplied all the knowledge he had of these creatures, and he quickly realized that hearing about them and seeing them up close were entirely different. Stories didn't scare him. Stories didn't give him the sensation that he was about to die. But as he stared into the expressionless skull faces, he could have sworn he saw his doom reflected in their nonexistent eyes.

They closed in on him, stumbling slowly and inefficiently. They were about his height, and he was gripped by fear of being killed and turning into one of them. Trembling, he reminded himself that he was a trained swordsman: not a spectacular one, but good for his age. Summoning his courage, he unsheathed his new sword only to find that it felt even heavier than it did back in the village. His left hand shaking around the hilt, he reached for the shield with his other hand and discovered it was too heavy to be useful. He wondered in an angry panic why his father bothered giving it to him before placing it on his back again and running forward.

The sword was too big for his left arm alone. He swung with both hands and all his strength at one of the unintelligent creatures, and when it fell to the ground he slipped through the gap in the circle as fast as his legs could carry him. Once safe he looked back, but the Stalchildren had disappeared.

Sighing in relief, he turned forward only to see one directly in front of him. Its arm was already reaching for him, and only terrified instinct brought his sword up in time. He did not slice the monster in half, as the inexperienced boy somewhat expected to do, but the force of the impact knocked the monster over and Link sped by.

As he encountered more monsters, he feared more for his life. He should not have done this. Stan had faith in him, but Link should have known to trust his own judgment over someone else's. He was inadequate for this job and deathly afraid that his mistake would cost him his life. Thirty minutes had not passed before he was exhausted. The monsters came from the most unpredictable places and always threatened him before he could catch his breath. Slash, run for dear life, repeat. He was painfully aware of his limits and knew that he would meet them soon if he didn't change his survival methods.

When a new group appeared, he did not have the energy to continue the cycle, so he climbed a tree to a branch some ten feet off the ground and waited while a circle closed in on him. As he caught his breath, he noticed with immense relief that the beings were too clumsy and stupid to climb. But then his eyes widened at the revelation that more and more appeared while he stayed in place, and they all converged around him.

Tears of fright leaked down his face, and he nearly gave into despair. But then he spotted another tree in the distance. Link was proud of his running abilities. He was sure he could out-sprint most people across short distances. Before the crowd became too large for him to find a landing spot, he plunged down, swung his sword in a wide arc, and ran to the next tree, dodging and knocking his way past enemies.

Winded, he climbed the next tree as he had done the first and repeated the pattern. He stayed off the ground just long enough to catch his breath, sprinted to the next tree down the path before the monsters surrounding him became too plenty, then climbed. Progress was slow and he was still scared and exhausted, but now he had a system which made the journey easier. A few times he sprinted to a tree only to find he could not climb it, and occasionally a flailing Stalchild struck him harshly, but fear and adrenaline pushed him onward.

His sprints had long ceased being fast enough for his liking. He was sure that by now he had actually passed his limit, but only one stretch remained. Gathering what remained of his failing courage, he leaped down from a branch, tired knees almost collapsing from the landing. The town walls were close now, and he could make out the details of the drawbridge. The only detail he focused on now, though, was that the drawbridge was up.

Sitting atop the great wall, a soldier called down to him. "Hurry up, kid! We'll lower it for you!" Link thought he had nothing left to give, but with one final run that seemed to last for minutes, he flew across the bridge just as it began rising again, barring the monsters entry. He collapsed midway, thoroughly drained, and only the lifting of the bridge propelled him forward, rolling him onto the cobblestone streets of Castle Town like a ragdoll.

The soldier climbed down from the wall by ladder. "Kid! Kid, are you all right?" Sweaty, bloody, and shaken, Link could only pant heavily. "Is anyone else out there?"

He gulped air. "No."

"Are you all right? What were you doing out there?"

Link was at once uncomfortable under the stranger's scrutiny. "I…I came from Kakariko." He was sure he sounded foolish and looked away so he wouldn't have to see the disapproval in the man's eyes.

"You moron! What were you doing out there by yourself? You're lucky a Stalfos didn't appear and end your life! You hear me?" Link apologized profusely between panting. "Is there someone here who can take care of you?"

"Yes," he lied, eager to escape the soldier's gaze.

"Then go to them. Have them clean you up, and don't do anything stupid like that again!"

"Y-yes." Link stood and stumbled into the main part of town, where he sat against a wall and focused on slowing his breathing. A horrible smell filled his nostrils, but he lacked the energy even to look for the source.

Once he recovered, he was immediately uncomfortable again. Though he had escaped the soldier, many more people were out than Link remembered seeing when he last visited. In the Castle Town market, people rushed and shoved around each other to buy their daily goods. Nervously, he directed his eyes elsewhere and let them rest on a lone figure in light armor not too far away at the edge of the crowd. A great pile of garbage sat in the afternoon sun, and the man busied himself digging through it. The stink from the pile mingled with the odors of dozens of sweating, unclean men and women to create the powerful stench Link had been inhaling, and he felt sick to his stomach.

"Damned jerks," the man grumbled. "This is the worst goddess-damned thing I've ever had to do as a knight." He turned on Link. "What are you looking at? Get lost!"

He scrambled to his feet and circled to the other side of the crowd. Clinging to the shadows and walls of the buildings at the crowd's edge, he still had to compress himself occasionally to avoid bumping into someone. Nonetheless, bodily contact could not be avoided. Many irate Hylians did not bother making room for him, walking directly into his path and expecting him to move out of their way.

Short among the adults, he could not look over them and had to settle for short glimpses through spaces created by their movements. He saw bread, meat, and fruit that looked slightly bad, but no potion vendor. It made sense, unfortunately: potions were expensive and few people knew how to make them, so no one would sell them on an open street with so many potential thieves.

"Um...do you know where the potion vendor is?"

His shy requests were lost in the murmur of the crowd, and the adults ignored him to continue on their way. Just as he was about to rethink his strategy, he spotted someone from Kakariko. "Hi, Laura."

A girl his height pulled back from the mass upon hearing her name. When she saw who it was, she gave a petulant sigh and tossed her short black hair to one side. "What are you doing here, Link? What do you want? I'm busy."

"Do you know where—"

"Too late. Later, loser." She turned her back on him and squeezed through an opening in the crowd.

"H-hey! Wait!" He attempted to follow, but the opening she went through closed again. He pursued aimlessly for a minute, worming through obstacles until he saw her walking briskly away from the crowd with a few perishables. She clearly thought she had lost him, but he pursued her down an alley and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Eep!" She spun around. "Don't do that, you creep! Especially not when you have dirt and blood on your hands! This is the only clean shirt I have right now! What is wrong with you?!"

"Do you know where the magic shop is?"

"Why? Or should I even ask?"

"It's for Brittany. It's important."

"I'm sure it is. It's always about her with you. You know, it's kind of creepy how obsessed you are with her."

"She's sick," Link explained angrily. "The doctor doesn't know what's wrong with her and it's getting worse, so I came here for a blue potion."

Her expression softened. "She's sick?"

"Yes. Do you know where the vendor is or not?"

"And you must have come from Kakariko. Did you come alone? Is that why—" She took in his tired and disheveled appearance and suddenly looked apologetic. "It's farther this way. Come with me." Bits of paper, mud, empty bottles, and what smelled faintly of fecal matter marked the narrow path. Link was amazed at how unperturbed she was and tried to mimic her nonchalance, but whenever something squished beneath his boots he made a disgusted face and hoped that it was mud. In a part of town far from the noisy, well-kept central district, they came to a dingy door under a small sign which read "magic shop."

The assaults on his nose from the marketplace and the alley were nothing compared to the odor that hit him inside the shop. A billow of smoke escaped when he opened the door, and once inside he and Laura squinted as they choked on the poisonous air. Link had never been here, but he immediately understood that the vendor made and sold more than just potions.

Behind the counter was a door leading to the "production site" of whatever was sold here. A man sat in front of it—not yet middle age, but still far older than Link and Laura with precisely the right yellow shade of teeth and faraway look to make Link wary. Hearing the door open, he eyed the two customers.

"You're a little young to shop here. Sorry boy, but you'll have to show her a good time without my help."

Link blushed. "We're here for a blue potion," Laura said, rolling her eyes and tossing her hair to the side again to make her displeasure clear.

"Mm-hm," the merchant replied skeptically. "Those cost a lot of money. Seventy rupees up front."

Link removed a pouch from his belt and laid exact change on the counter. "When will it be ready?"

The man blinked, clearly surprised that Link had the money. "A few hours. Come back around supper time. May I ask your name?"

"Link."

He scribbled something on a pad. "I'll remember that. Anything else I can get you? May I interest you in a paralysis charm?"

Before they could say anything, another man walked into the store covering his face with a scarf. Assuming from the silence that he did not have to wait for service, he spoke directly. "Hello, I want to show someone a 'good time'. Got anything for that?"

Link and Laura left during the exchange. "Thank you," he told her.

"Whatever. Just don't screw this up. If Brittany's really so sick that you'd do something as stupid as travel across Hyrule Field without a knight, then she definitely needs this potion."

"What's a paralysis charm?"

"People have been getting sick here lately, having hallucinations and finding themselves unable to move for hours. I guess that sleaze is trying to make money off of superstition. Personally, I think it's the _other_ things he sells that are making people sick. Anyway, I have work to do."

"Wait. Do you have any food or water?"

"There's a well in front of the Temple of Time. As for food…here." After deliberation, she handed him a chunk of the bread she bought. "The rest is for my family. Good luck getting back to Kakariko in one piece. Make sure someone accompanies you so Brittany gets her potion, and tell her I hope she feels better soon. I'm out of here."

She left without another word. Link ate his morsel and found it barely did anything to sate his hunger. His appetite paled in comparison to his thirst, though, and he dragged his tired feet tiredly determinedly away.

* * *

Several paths branched from the center of town: back alleys, streets to smaller districts, a route to the imposing castle in the distance, and a well-traveled dirt road. Link took the last one.

He was not prepared for the sight that met him. He'd only been to the Temple of Time twice, but always he imagined it as a place untainted by mortals. Built to honor the goddesses, it was revered as almost sacred ground, too holy for people to tread on without good reason. But now it was a house to the profane and the homeless. The garden Link remembered admiring when he last came was a barren dump. Poorly made shanties littered the area to accommodate Kakariko's population, and from inside the great cathedral he heard a din of voices.

A well was present as Laura had said, but it had a small line of people who, though not exhausted as he was, were in worse condition. He drank greedily when his turn came until water sloshed inside his belly, and then he rubbed some on his arms to clean the dirt and small cuts from his trip. The voices inside the Temple grew rowdier, and curious, he investigated.

Inside were priests, blasphemers, and others praying for an end to their hardships. Blankets served as makeshift beds, and at the far end in front of the Door of Time an assembly had gathered. Voices took turns pronouncing themselves, echoing above the clamor and stirring all who listened to passion.

"How much more can Castle Town take?"

"I say we petition the king for—"

"We've tried that!"

"Everyone get out! Your presence in this Temple is an affront to the goddesses!"

"The goddesses are dead, or at least dead to our pleas."

"Farore, give us courage to see us through our plights!"

"We have nowhere else to go!"

"Kakariko is not our concern! They have no right to come here!"

"The goddesses have turned a blind eye to our troubles! They are punishing us!"

"They will see us through!"

"The Lost Woods is the root of the evil in Hyrule Field! Let us burn it to the ground!"

"He's right! It's either the Lost Woods or Castle Town!"

Everyone struggled to be heard, and no one was. Link backed away from the scene, suddenly depressed. He had a few hours to kill and didn't feel like taking in any more of the city's sad state, so he moved away from the building and made to sit under a tree.

"That's my spot! Move it!"

"Oh! Sorry."

After surrendering the spot to a man who sat against the trunk and covered himself with a blanket, Link sprawled out on the grass and tried to will himself to relax. The running and fighting had tired him out, but the autumn air was too brisk for anyone outside to slumber easily. Shivers jostled any hope of rest from him, but he stubbornly kept still. He hated being here with all the people and noise, and the less time he had to spend awake, the better.

"Ah, I'm sorry, kid," the man said, his anger gone. "Take this while you sleep." He tossed him his blanket.

"Thank you," Link replied, reveling in the warmth left from the man's body heat.

"Just make sure to cover yourself. That's some expensive-looking gear on your back. I'm surprised someone hasn't already stolen it. You'd best not let anyone see while you're asleep."

Link took the man's advice and closed his eyes, hoping that when he woke the potion would be ready.

* * *

The sun was descending quickly when his eyes opened, and to his relief his sword and shield had not been stolen. The man under the tree had somehow succeeded where Link failed in sleeping without a blanket. Link returned the item, spreading it over the man's frame, and left.

Less tired but still cold and hungry, he ventured back to the central district. The vendors were gone, but a crowd still lingered.

"I say we join him."

"There's not enough fuel in the entire world to burn down the Lost Woods."

"We should give him a chance! He's already helped so much these past few months, fighting off monsters and making room here for everyone. He likely knows what he's doing."

"He's a young fool. It's stupidity like his that led to the war with the Gerudo fourteen years ago."

"Oh, don't start that again."

"We murdered an entire race. Do you really think that's right?"

"_We_ didn't do anything. When last I checked, you and I didn't fight in that war."

"But what if burning down the forest doesn't stop the skeletons? You know the Tragedy of Time. Sometimes rash actions allow your enemy to succeed."

Link sped by, hugging himself against the cool evening wind that blew his long hair out of his eyes and numbed the tips of his ears. Inside the magic shop, the vendor greeted him.

"Ah, it's you. Mister…Link, correct?" Reaching under the counter, he grabbed a translucent vial and handed it over. "One blue potion. If I may ask, what is it for?"

"My friend is sick."

"Then I won't delay you. I hope you shop here again in the future. Maybe you'd enjoy some of my…_other_…products. That little lady you came with earlier is very pretty, no?" He grinned, flashing his yellow teeth. Link muttered a thank-you and left hurriedly.

Outside he scrutinized the simple glass bottle. It contained a blue substance that looked as repulsive as the sludge in this part of town. He pulled the cork, took a big whiff, and immediately struggled to replace the lid. How could anything that smelled like _that_ be healthy? The bottle wasn't even clean. Link deliberated. Should he run back to Kakariko now? This potion could mean a quick recovery for Brittany, but it certainly didn't look like it had healing properties. Was it fake?

He pocketed it and shook the thought from his mind. Now was the time for action. Brittany was likely very sick still, and he could not stall his journey. He walked slowly toward the center district, saving his energy and mentally prepping himself, for he knew the return trip across Hyrule Field would be just as difficult as the one coming had been. He also knew that no one would volunteer to escort him and that convincing the guard to let him go alone would be difficult.

The alley was silent and deserted except for an old man sitting against a wall and covering himself with a torn blanket. Link did not remember seeing him there on his way to the magic shop.

"Excuse me, young sir." The weary voice reminded him of his father, and he stopped. "Have you anything to give a poor old man like me?" Link shook his head and made to keep walking, but awkwardly stopped again when the man kept talking. "Please…I beg of you…have some pity."

"I haven't—"

"Wait." The man sniffed the air, delirium in his eyes. "You have something, don't you? Yes, a blue potion! Might I have it? Please, I haven't had anything to eat in days, and I'm very sick."

Link felt backed into a corner, though the old man had not moved. He searched for the right words to form a negative answer. "I…I'm sorry, but it's for my sick friend." He knew it sounded like a fabricated excuse, and he quickly turned and kept walking. But suddenly the old man reappeared in front of him. "Whoa!" Link took a step back.

The old man's eyes narrowed. "You're _lying_."

Though startled, Link managed to find his anger. "How did you get in front of me so quickly? You're not sick at all, are you?"

"_You_ are the sick one. Allow me to heal you." The man flexed his right arm, and his right hand began glowing like hot coal.

Link forgot his anger. "Sir, your hand!"

He raised his glowing hand, unclenching his fist as though burning a print into the air and facing his palm toward Link. "What scares you most, little boy?"

Link realized that the man was not in pain and stared into him, unable to do anything else in his shock. The man's eyes terrified him. Never before had he seen such hatred, not even in Dampe when he looked at Stan. "Who are you?"

"I am the judge of your Hylian race. I control your fate. You have been found uncaring, cowardly, and deceitful." Employing once again a speed that surprised Link, the old man placed his palm over the boy's face, burning him. Link yelped and backed away, but the damage had been done.

His vision started to swim. "What did you do to me?" He reached for his sword in self-defense, but his arms felt too heavy to move and hung limply at his sides. Soon he lost control of his legs as well and fell onto his back. The stranger bent down and patted Link's clothes, searching for something. "Please…" Link's tongue felt large and foreign in his mouth. It was becoming hard to talk, hard to breathe. "Take whatever you want. Hurt me if you want, but please leave the potion."

"And what else would I take? I've no need for a child's weapon. Don't worry. I won't kill you. You can lie there and suffer for the evil you and your kind have done." His hand glowed again, and all Link could do was stare wide-eyed as it came near his face a second time. Out of nowhere the thought of Stan came to him. He wished Stan were here. Stan could beat this guy easily, whoever or whatever he was. He'd make everything all right. "You never answered my question. What scares you most? It will be interesting to find out."

The hand made contact. Link screamed. His vision failed completely, and suddenly he was in a little boy's body in the forest clearing in Kakariko holding a wooden training sword. A strong white-haired man towered over him. "Boy, pay attention!" Link realized he was reliving a memory just before his father struck him. Link was not in control of his actions. His younger self cried, repeating the past action.

This scene played in his mind over and over. In Castle Town he screamed and twitched on the ground, and in Kakariko he got knocked down and cried. At length even his vision of the illusion began to swim, and he passed out.

* * *

When he woke, he judged from the darkness that an hour had passed. His potion and the old man were gone. Dried trails of tears lined his cheeks, and he was left wondering what in the world happened. Was it all a hallucination, the type Laura warned him about? He no longer felt the pain from his visions, and he had control over his body again. He was stiff, but that was probably due to lying in the street for so long. Whatever happened, the fact remained that though his sword, shield, and money remained with him, the potion had vanished.

Link shivered as he stood, both from the cold and from the childhood memory that was fresh in his mind. At once he returned to the magic shop and found that it was still open.

"You again? What can I do for you this time?"

"My potion was stolen. Can I get another one?"

"I'm sorry to hear that. It's not surprising, though. This town's falling apart. The shop's closing soon, but I can stay a bit late and make another potion for you. I'll just need seventy rupees."

Link fumbled through his money pouch and found to his dismay that he was short. "Um…I only have thirty-seven."

"Sorry, kid, but those things don't come cheap. Come back when you have the money."

"B-but…my friend really needs it!"

"Times are hard for all of us. That's the cold truth. I hate to do this, but unless you have the rupees to buy something, you need to get out."

Despondent, he left and sat against the store's outer wall, recounting and hoping he had somehow missed thirty-three other rupees. The guilt he had felt in Kakariko came back. Not only had he made his friend sick, he had also failed to help her get over it. He remembered the blow his father had dealt him long ago and felt utterly worthless. It seemed Brittany would have to wait for Stan after all.

But perhaps he could get more money. Surely it couldn't be that hard to make thirty-three more rupees. He just had to act quickly. He ran back to the center of town. Most of the crowd had dispersed, but a few people still loitered there. He braced himself for what he was about to do. He did not like being around other people, but he reminded himself that this was for Brittany.

"Please, sir, my friend is sick and I need money for a potion. No doctor can cure her illness. Can you give anything?"

The man did not look happy as he studied the boy. "I've not seen your face before, so you must be from Kakariko. Is it not enough what Castle Town has given your people already? We've given up our houses for you. We've rushed to create makeshift homes. Now the city is overcrowded and disease festers, and still you want more? You dare hound us for money? This is not your town. If you make life any more hellish for us, I'll give you something much less desirable than rupees. Pass the message on to your beggar friends." The rest of the crowd joined in, condemning Link, and he backed away defeated.

The wind carried their words to him as he left. "The little leech! Can you believe it?"

"I know! He must be one of the thieves who tried to break into the castle."

"Trying to make money elsewhere after failing there, no doubt."

"I almost can't blame him, though. I hear the whole castle is filled with valuables. The royal family probably has more wealth than the rest of Hyrule combined."

An idea came to Link. Immediately he forced it from his mind. Surely there were still other options. He didn't need to resort to anything so drastic yet. But then again, he had had no success thus far.

It was such a stupid idea…he could imagine a hundred different negative consequences coming from it. But he could also imagine Brittany dying, all because he didn't have the fortitude to earn thirty-three measly rupees. Link sighed at the absurdity of his plan and took the path to Hyrule Castle.

* * *

_Blizzaga Saga_: Don't let Laura fool you. She's totally down for a "good time" with Link. XD


	3. A Manipulative Soul

_Blizzaga Saga_: Just to clear things up, yes, this fic was originally posted under Dannondorf. We are one and the same. Check out Dannondorf's review if you don't believe me. In the interest of keeping the spirit of the story intact, the first few chapters will be mostly the same as before (for better or worse) with many fixes to awkward phrasing.

If you're wondering why Saria hasn't appeared yet, she shows up in the next chapter. :)

* * *

Chapter 3: "A Manipulative Soul"

Link tried to convince himself that this wasn't the dumbest thing he'd ever done. He's challenged Stan to a fight once. He shuddered at the memory.

Getting to his current location had been surprisingly easy with the guards so disgruntled and inattentive. He had plenty of practice avoiding others in Kakariko, so to his pleasant surprise he was remarkably suited to the task. However, he had been stuck in the same hiding place for over half an hour, for the two knights nearby kept each other alert by talking.

"I'm tired!"

"I know it's boring, but we still have to do it."

"With all the monsters in Hyrule Field, I thought we'd be seeing more action. Instead, with all the extra people in town, our attention has been focused on beefing up security."

"Just be glad you don't have garbage duty."

"I am. I wouldn't be caught dead sifting through all the shit in the marketplace. I just wish I could get a little action."

"Heh. That sounds more sexual than you probably intended."

"Stow it. I want to use my lance."

"Ha! Want to thrust your 'lance' into something, huh?"

"For goddesses' sake, I want to fight. After the training we had to do for this job, you'd think we'd get a chance to use our skills."

"Like you have any skills."

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

"I was only joking."

"I've been on edge lately, and you're not helping."

"I think everyone in town has been. You should be proud you're doing something to help. It may not be slaying monsters, but you are keeping the peace."

"I guess. Everyone's really had to step up lately."

"Tell me about it. We even have some civilian heroes. Have you heard about that Stan guy? He's taken charge of leading people here from Kakariko. A powerhouse, apparently. People say that on his most recent trip he fought two Stalfos at the same time and won."

"No way. Most of the knights can't handle one. Are you sure they were Stalfos and not just Stalchildren?"

"That's what I heard. There's a rumor he might be knighted without all the crap you and I had to go through if he proves himself worthy by 'service extending beyond the call of duty during crisis'."

"You say he carries a broadsword? How have we never noticed him before?"

"He's not a lord. He's just a peasant from Kakariko."

"Then how did he get a broadsword? Even we knights are stuck with ordinary lances."

"He was trained by a man named Orca. I have no idea who that is, but apparently he fought for Hyrule before we were born. And when we were kids, he was out slaying Gerudo in the great war."

Link never thought hearing about his father and brother-figure could be so irritating. He hugged himself against the cold and leaned against the rock which hid him from sight. He wanted to sit and roll into a ball for extra warmth, but did not for fear of the noise it might cause. Teeth chattering, he wished the two men would leave soon so he could move and generate some body heat, but they kept chatting.

He changed his mind. This _was_ a stupid idea. Link prided himself on his patience, but being hungry, thirsty, tired, and cold had thus far tested that attribute. His sword and shield, which he now wondered why he had taken, weighed heavily on his back, bringing his knees to a slight bend. In hindsight, his decision had been completely irrational. What was he thinking? He should have stayed in Castle Town and continued begging there. Now he was in danger of being caught whether he kept going or retreated.

The memory of his father striking him rose once more to the forefront of his mind. "The only path to strength is through pain and diligence. You cannot let your feelings get in the way. If you let them overpower reason, you will only become lazy and act rashly." Wondering not for the first time that night why this memory kept resurfacing, Link tried to shut it out. He suddenly became afraid. His father would surely chastise him for this foolish course of action. Despite his knowledge that Orca was far too old and weak to harm him as he'd done before, he felt an inexplicable fear of being struck once more for his stupidity.

"Oh, so Stan's the one who's been getting everyone worked up."

"Yes. I was there. He's not exactly eloquent, but I guess everyone's so distressed that it doesn't take much to stir the masses."

"It's certainly made him popular. It seems like everyone's talking about his idea. They're so goddess-damned desperate to feel safe again."

"He seems like an easy-going guy. Hard-working, but really friendly. But when he talks about the Kokiri…it's like he's a different person."

"It's not often a hero is so set on genocide."

"I don't think it's fair to call his idea genocide. I don't think Kokiri are people. More like wicked little animals."

"No one's seen a Kokiri before, so no one knows for sure what they are. They might not even exist."

"They have to exist. How else do you explain the walking skeletons in Hyrule Field?"

"I don't know. Maybe the King of Evil has returned."

"Don't even joke about that."

"Maybe we don't have to burn down the Lost Woods. Maybe the Hero of Time and Princess of Destiny will appear and save us. They're supposed to be reincarnated to fight again every few generations, right?"

"For Nayru's sake…listen to you."

Link's eyes closed, and it took some effort to open them again. At this rate, he would fall asleep before he moved again. His eyes closed once more, but a drop of water hit the top of his head and they snapped open.

"Farore," one cursed. "I told you it was going to rain! You can't even see the stars!"

"Noooo," the other whined. "It's too cold to rain!" Link silently agreed. "Damn it, we should have joined the group that evacuated to Goron City."

"Let's go inside."

"We're not off duty for at least another half hour."

"All the other guards have trees or overhangs to stand under. We have nothing. Come on. No one's going to sneak in during the thirty minutes between now and when the relief comes. There's no sense in getting sick."

Link could not believe his luck as he heard their footsteps leading away. He stole a peak around the boulder and saw their armored forms retreating along the dirt path to the castle. He did not mentally celebrate for long, however, for a heavy rain soon began. His teeth chattered violently. Keep going, or head back?

The guards made his choice for him. He watched as they retreated from their various posts and either went back to the castle or congregated under a large overhang that was part of the gate closer to town, the gate he climbed over to get here. They probably thought that as long as no one passed that gate, no one could sneak into the castle, but they only succeeded in preventing Link from sneaking back into town.

As soon as the rain extinguished the torches lining the path and he judged that most of the guards had their backs to him, he darted from his hiding place and dove behind a bush. He was unbelievably cold, but he willed his body to endure the rain and gradually closed the distance to the fortress, rushing to new hiding places when he determined it was safe. Before, he ran carefully so his sword and shield would not bang together and make noise, but now he ran with no concern for that, the rain muting all sound.

He focused on not slipping in the newly-formed mud. Already his brown clothes were heavy with moisture and chaffed as he ran. His long hair, normally not a problem, refused to stay out of his eyes, and the violent rain tore through each cloud that his breath formed.

Several trees blocked his view of the soldiers and thus their view of him, so he ran at full speed, only paying attention to obstacles ahead of him. Soon he saw the moat surrounding the castle and the enormous front door, and he paused. There could be no sneaking through a door that size. It probably opened up into a large hall filled with people. Should he just knock and beg for money? Surely whoever answered would see his desperation and have pity on him.

That thought seemed reasonable, but when the door began to crack open of its own accord, fear consumed him. He forgot his plan, only thinking of the potential dangers in getting caught, and sprinted further down the stone walkway that wrapped around the moat. Each side of the walkway stretched the entire length of the corresponding side of the enormous castle, but miraculously no one saw him before he rounded the corner—or at least he assumed that to be the case from the lack of shouting. Link kept running, not daring to look back, and on the next side of the castle he came across a small shed. Without thinking, he opened the door and sped inside, quickly closing it behind him in case a knight chose that moment to round the corner.

Link breathed heavily, water pouring from his hair and clothes onto the dry ground. His feet, hands, and face were slightly numbed. Water filled his boots, but he did not take them off, fearing he might have to run again soon. Immediately he became aware of a warmth and turned to see a lit torch. With great relief he stepped forward, stretching his white hands toward the flame. It did not occur to him that a lit torch could mean someone else was present until a voice sounded from the next room in the shed.

"Is that you, father?"

He froze, caught between running back outside and calling out a "yes" in the deepest voice he could muster. Footsteps approached, fancy shoes clicking against stone.

"I'm ready for bed n—"

A girl emerged from a doorway and froze upon seeing him. Both stood completely still, fear in their similar blue eyes. The girl seemed about his age but was clearly of a far greater stature. Her long flowing blonde hair hung in braids down to her waist, and she wore a small tiara and a clean expensive-looking dress. A thick old leather-bound book rested in her grip. Her face ultimately convinced him of her status, for it had no scars or dirt or blemishes. She regularly bathed and was a stranger to physical activity.

"Wh-who are you?"

Thinking quickly, he fell to his knees and bowed, masking his fright at being discovered with calm words which he pronounced carefully and properly. "I am sorry for upsetting you. Please do not be afraid. My name is Link."

"Please rise, Link. I—you merely surprised me."

He obeyed, looking at her once more and thinking furiously, planning his next move. He noticed she was not looking at him, but at the hilt of his sword, which stuck up from his back above his shoulder. "This sword is only for training. I barely have the strength to use it."

To his bewilderment, she no longer looked scared or surprised. She just studied him curiously. "…You look like a drowned rat."

He shuddered. "I know…" He had not noticed before, but now that his wet clothes clung to his form he realized just how much weight he had lost to illness in the past weeks. He felt like a helpless shadow, every bit as pitiful as her description of him implied.

Some great revelation played across her face, and suddenly she seemed confident. Smiling, she held a small gloved hand out to him. "It is nice to meet you, Link. I am Zelda, princess of Hyrule."

Link stared in disbelief, not knowing whether to believe her, until he noticed that her hand remained extended. Then quickly, awkwardly, he responded. He reached out to take her hand, then thought better of it, then wiped his wet hand on his drenched tunic, then, realizing the futility in that, made to take her hand again. The girl giggled, and Link remained unsure of himself. He had heard that when meeting a proper lady it was customary to take her hand and kiss it, but he could not bring himself to do that and settled for shaking her hand normally.

She did not seem to mind the breach of etiquette. "It's nice to meet you too," he muttered quietly.

"You must live an interesting life. Not many people bear the same name as the Hero of Time."

"My father wanted me to have the name of a strong swordsman." He noticed she was staring again at his sword. She examined it closely, and he took in his new acquaintance as well. A title printed in gold stretched across her book's cover: _Mudora, Book of Prophecy_.

"What brings you here?"

"My friend in Kakariko is very sick. I came to Castle Town and bought a blue potion for her, but it was stolen, and I do not have enough money for another." He looked at her evenly, fighting the fear and shame of having to address someone so directly and desperately. "I came to beg for money."

"What were the circumstances of the theft?"

"It happened while I was asleep."

She appeared to scrutinize him and then smiled knowingly. "You guard your emotions well. You're a very careful person, aren't you? Don't lie to me, Link. I'm a politician. I've been trained to tell when people do that." She wore a smirk that Link found rather annoying. "I can see it in your eyes. You were paralyzed, weren't you?" He did not reply, but his exterior betrayed his surprise. "More people have been getting sick like that lately. All the victims claim that someone came up to them and made them fall over and hallucinate by touching them with a burning hand. Some say it was a beautiful young woman. Others say an old man, and some say it was a little boy. I believe a group of people is using magic to terrorize Hyrule's citizens."

"…Magic?"

"You don't believe me?"

"I don't believe in magic. Isn't it possible the victims simply got sick?"

"Hyrule has a rich history of legend. Who's to say which stories are real and which are fantasy? You don't believe in magic, but I bet you believe the tale of the Tragedy of Time. The symptoms all the sick people have described perfectly match a spell I read about once. It attacks weaknesses in the heart, manipulating the victim's fear and guilt, of which I'm guessing you have plenty." Link frowned. He did not like this girl. He was used to analyzing others, not being analyzed. "Your voice is very quiet, and you're so scrawny. Everything about you suggests a timid, almost reluctant presence in this world. You value reason and discipline over passion and spontaneity, which means more than likely you've made few lasting bonds with others. Yet you came all the way here for the sake of a friend…I doubt that decision was the result of reason and discipline." She smiled to herself in amusement.

Usually Link greatly disliked looking others in the eye, but something told him it would be an insult to his honor to let her embarrass him. She had no right to pick him apart like this. He stared directly into her and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Are you really the princess?"

She grinned playfully. "Are my word and the emblem of Hyrule stitched onto my dress not proof enough? If you doubt me, I can take you to the king so you can ask him."

Link suspected she knew she could easily get him in trouble if she wanted, but he stayed calm. "What are you doing in this little shed?"

Her eyes lit up in childish excitement. "You'll never believe what I found! I was reading through this book and found information about a secret hole here in the shed that leads to an underground chamber. I just found it when you came."

She walked into the next room, and he warily followed. Beyond the doorway, he saw that several ancient statues had been pushed over without regard for any damage that might be done to them. Link looked at the exquisite detail in each one and wondered how many blue potions he could buy with the money earned from selling just one of them. Other objects had been shoved carelessly out of the way, and toward the back of the room—under where a statue had been, judging by the relatively clean area in the shape of a statue's base—a hole in the floor tempted them forward. A rope had been recently tied to a fixture on the wall and fell into the hole.

Link kept Zelda between him and the hole. She laughed. "What's the matter? Are you afraid I'll push you in?"

"You've yet to say anything about money. If you don't have thirty-three spare rupees, I'll go."

He noticed she stared at his sword again. "I'll give you what you want. But you have to do something for me first." She walked closer to the hole, leaning over it. "There is a precious jewel down there I want. If you retrieve it for me, I'll get you your blue potion."

He eyed her, not believing a word of what she said. "That's hardly a good outfit for exploring. You couldn't have been planning to go down there in it."

"If I wore anything else, my father would have known know I was up to something when I came out here. Besides, I have more outfits just like this one. I was scared of doing this alone, so I'm happy you showed up. Could you go down and make sure it's safe?" He did not move. "What's the matter? You don't trust me?"

"…The hole is so deep that light from the torch doesn't reach the bottom."

"No one's making you do this. If you want, you can leave. I don't have the strength to stop you. But it sounds like you only have one choice if you want to save your friend." She took a lit torch from the wall and offered it to him.

Jumping down there defied all reason. He was almost certain it was a trap, but if there was even the slightest chance that doing it would help Brittany, he owed it to her to try. He drew courage from his purpose and approached the hole, which was just big enough for him to squeeze through with the equipment on his back. Zelda appeared grateful as he took the torch from her. Then he grabbed the rope and plunged downward.

Holding the rope and the torch at the same time proved difficult and he almost burned himself, but the wetness on his hands allowed him to slide quickly and easily down the length of the rope. After what he imagined to be forty or so feet, he stood on level ground. The light from the torch revealed a smooth floor that dropped into a dark abyss not far from where he stood. On the other side of the room, backed against a wall, was a great treasure chest and, a bit further away, a suit of armor, but nowhere did he see jewelry. Link let go of the rope, and to his horror it pulled away from him, rising rapidly until it went back through the hole in the ceiling and disappeared.

"Zelda?" he shouted, but there was no response. He could not see her through the opening, either. He wasn't surprised, but that didn't mean he wasn't frightened; it had been a trap after all, and now he could do nothing but wait.

No, he thought frantically, maybe there was a way to undo his mistake, like a hidden way out. He bent over the ledge near his feet and lowered the torch as much as he could without toppling over. The light did not reach the pit's bottom, and he saw only darkness. There was no safe way down. Discouraged but still hopeful, he stood back up to where the rope used to be and looked around. He felt colder in his fright, and each drop of water that rolled down his legs and dripped onto the floor chilled him. He stepped away from the puddle he created and walked up to the suit of armor. It was roughly Stan's size—massive—and held an enormous ax that must have at least equaled Link in weight. Remembering that the hole leading down here had been hidden beneath the base of a statue, he examined the base of the suit, but the suit stood on armored feet rather than a large rectangular base and thus could not be hiding anything. Desperately, he felt the wall behind the suit and discovered that its midsection concealed a small alcove, but he could not make the suit budge. He pushed with all his might, struck it with his sword, and even charged into it with his shield a few times, but it remained firmly in place.

Marveling at how an object could be so immobile, he turned his attention to the only other noticeable feature in the room. He advanced to the chest and held his torch to it. The large wooden container came up to his waist and had a latch but no lock. It looked musty, like it hadn't been touched in ages. Peering closer, Link saw writing carved into it just above the latch.

"If you desire the treasure the Iron Knuckle guards, make use of this treasure first. May the Bow of Heroes be your enemy's downfall and not your own."

Barely literate, Link took a few moments to decipher the message, but even after he finished he was not sure he had read correctly. He assumed the "Iron Knuckle" was the suit of armor, though why it had a name like that he had no clue. Regardless, apparently he needed whatever lay in the chest to get to the alcove, so with a speed prompted by fear, he kicked the latch and the chest sprung open.

His jaw dropped in awe, for inside rested a beautiful bow and quiver. They were simple in design, not ornate by any means, but Link knew instinctively that this one was better-made than any he'd held. Reverently, setting the torch down, he took the bow and felt it. It too was obviously ancient, but age had not weakened it. A strange sentiment suddenly possessed him as though the weapon were communicating. A wild half-formed image of fire and ice wrapping around arrows and making them more powerful came to mind, but he knew not where it came from. Surprised by the image, he dropped the bow and examined the quiver. It held twenty arrows, and for his own amusement he put it on his back with his sword and shield and practiced the motion of taking an arrow from it and putting it into the bow.

For a brief moment, he forgot that he was trapped in a dungeon and grinned at the prospect of practicing with this bow instead of the cheap little one he had at home. He pulled back the bowstring with the arrow as if to shoot and actually liked that it was difficult to wield, for that meant he had a new goal in his desire to become stronger. As he held the arrow back against the string's resistance, the image of fire and ice appeared in his mind once more, a little more vividly this time. He closed his eyes and focused on the image, trying to determine what it meant.

A noise broke his silent reverie. Opening his eyes, he swung the torch wildly looking for the source of the sound, and his eyes rested on the suit of armor. It shook in place, and Link wondered what force could move it so when he couldn't. Then the arm moved, both hands gripping the terrible ax, and the knees bent into a battle stance. Its helmet faced him, accompanied by the grating of iron against iron, and he trembled, having had no idea a person was inside the suit.

"I-I'm s-sorry for sneaking to the c-castle. I only did it to help a friend."

His innocent plea amounted to nothing, for the "Iron Knuckle" said nothing and ran toward him, ax held high with herculean strength. Its footsteps echoed loudly in the cavern, so heavy they seemed to shake the earth. Link paled at the sight of the monstrous weapon and leaped away just as the knight brought it down. It hit the ground with an enormous thud that really _did_ shake the cavern. He backed away on all fours until he realized he was at the edge of the abyss. This knight did not want to hear excuses. It just wanted him dead.

Hands shaking, he aimed with his new bow, and at once the image of fire and ice made sense. Link concentrated, and as the arrow left the string a ball of flame surrounded the sharpened tip. It struck the knight's helmet and appeared to harm it as its head twisted to the side against the flame, but then it grunted in annoyance and resumed its effort to kill Link. It ran at him, readying its weapon once more. He tried to shoot a fire arrow again but found he could not duplicate whatever he had just done. An ordinary arrow without flames left his bow and grazed harmlessly against the metal shell.

Link stared in mortal terror at the juggernaut upon him. He had no more time to attack or dodge, so he merely tensed for the inevitable blow. But in its run, the Iron Knuckle stepped in the puddle Link left under where the rope had been and slipped, falling and sliding across the ground until it fell off the edge flailing and screaming.

It took a minute for the shaken boy to grasp that he was out of danger. He could not believe how _lucky_ he had just gotten. A silly accident was all that saved him. Heart still pounding, he looked over the edge, realizing he hadn't heard a sound of anything landing at the bottom of the pit. He stared into the darkness and concluded that it must have been a _very_ deep pit.

When he came back to his senses, he looked to the indentation previously covered by the knight and saw to his great disappointment that it was not a tunnel but merely a small groove. Nevertheless, something in it sparkled in the light of his torch. Walking over, he saw a crimson jewel the size of his fist. Awed by it but knowing he needed to focus on a way out, he threw it into his rupee pouch, and when he turned the rope was descending back down to him.

"Link, did you get it?" Zelda's voice reached him from above. "Climb back up!" At first he did not know what to do, but rage consumed him and he took to climbing after abandoning the torch. Tired, weak, and wet, it tried his ability ruthlessly, but at length he returned exhausted to the world of light. When he saw Zelda, he expected an explanation for why she had lifted the rope earlier, but she only wore a smirk and asked, "So do you believe in magic now?"

He contemplated striking her. "I…almost _died_."

"Hopefully it was worth it. As promised, here is your potion."

His anger vanished as she handed him a vial. "You have one already?"

"Lord Zant recently requested it, but I don't think he really needed it." Link nodded, wondering why she felt the need to identify the person to him when he didn't know the names of any lords or ladies. "You're not the only one who is good at sneaking around," she finished with a light smile. He stared at the vial. "It's real. Take a sip if you don't believe me."

He called her bluff and took a gulp. Instantly he felt less fatigued, and the cold wetness that refused to leave his clothes did not bother him as much. "Oh, wow…"

"I see you have a new bow. Did you feel anything unusual when you picked it up?"

"I can shoot fire arrows," he said, not fully understanding his words. "I can shoot ice arrows, too."

"Can you show me?"

"No. Whatever I did, I can't repeat it."

"You're just out of mana. You'll probably have to wait a few hours before you can do it again." He looked at her questioningly. "I'm sorry for lifting the rope. It was the only way I could make sure you stayed long enough to get the jewel. But you're alive and have your potion now, so all is well."

"If all is well, then I'm leaving," he said coldly, though still quietly. "Here's your jewel."

"Keep it. I must confess that there is something else I want you to do."

"No."

"You don't have to do it until you've given the potion to your friend. That jewel is only half of a greater gem. It has a counterpart elsewhere, and they combine to form a broken-heart shape."

"I have to figure out a way to get past your guards to Castle Town. Then I have to get past the guard who controls the drawbridge to Hyrule Field, and after that I have to somehow get to Kakariko without being killed by Stalfos and Stalchildren. I've held up my end of our deal."

"Keep the jewel, then. Go for now, and just think about it when you wake up tomorrow." She tore a page from her book, placed it in another bottle to keep it dry, and handed it to him. "This is a map to the jewel's location. It's in the Lost Woods."

Link looked at her like she was insane. "You know that no one's ever come back from there alive, right?"

"Just go and think about it." She smiled knowingly as though thinking he would eventually accept the job. "I can't tell you much about your new ability, but if you want answers, I'm positive the Lost Woods has them. It was nice to meet you, Link. I'm sorry I cannot help you get back to Kakariko. I'd offer a horse, but they scare too easily to be of use with all the monsters around."

"You can't at least provide an escort for me?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm only a princess. I don't have any real power over people. But I think you'll find that the undead won't bother you quite so much now that you can use magic. If you decide to do what I've asked, tell the guards your name when you return and I'll make sure we see each other." Link did not understand, but he said goodbye hastily. After securing his two bottles, sword, shield, bow, and quiver, he left.

Rain still fell heavily when he stuck his head outside to see if anyone was nearby. He knew already that he would miss the heat of the torches, but he ran out into the field with the potion safely in his pocket, determined to get to Kakariko and Brittany quickly despite the new gear weighing him down. The next two hours passed swiftly. He managed to get past the guards at the gate by sneaking close and then turning around, posing as someone who had just snuck _in_. They pounced on him and literally threw him into Castle Town. From there he kept running and, after telling the guard at the drawbridge about his sick friend and the potion he needed to get her, advanced to Hyrule Field. Remembering his earlier trip across the plain, Link mentally prepared for the worst, but fewer Stalchildren impeded him than last time. Almost a day after setting out on his quest for a potion, Link arrived before sunrise at Kakariko's gate dirty, beaten, and close to collapsing, but victorious.

* * *

_Blizzaga Saga_: Bonus points to anyone who knows where "Mudora" comes from. And for those who don't like my depiction of Zelda…well, keep in mind that people aren't always as they seem. ;)


	4. A Lonely Soul, Part I

_Blizzaga Saga_: In this chapter, Link finally meets Saria and his adventure starts, so if you clicked on my story for her, here she is. :)

* * *

Chapter 4: "A Lonely Soul, Part I"

The events of the previous night blurred together like a dream when he woke. He remembered climbing up stone steps against the water rolling down them and fearing that his shout to be let into the village would be lost in the downpour. Mr. and Mrs. Brandon had given him an earful for going out into Hyrule Field, but then they cried and hugged him in relief. He had poured the potion past the unconscious Brittany's lips before being led to his home, where he fell onto his bed in dry clothes he didn't recall putting on.

When Link opened his eyes, he felt sticky from the dampness his long hair left on the pillow, but also warm. Someone had tossed an extra blanket over him, for which he was thankful after being in the cold for all of yesterday. His father snored softly in the other bed, but Link could not remember if Orca had been there last night. Seeing him sleeping encouraged him to stay in bed, but the realization that he did not yet know if Brittany had recovered destroyed his inner peace.

Sore from running, fighting, and sneaking around, he stubbornly rose, silencing a grunt so as not to disturb Orca. Boots, sword, shield, bow, quiver, rupee pouch, and the bottle with Zelda's message lay in a pile on the floor. He felt a twinge of excitement upon recognizing that in the past day he had gained two new weapons, and he equipped the load so he could train later before cracking the door and slipping out.

Upon seeing how high the sun was, Link realized he had slept for a long time and wondered why the old man was still asleep. He supposed the Brandon's had convinced his father to let him sleep in and go easy on the training for a day. His boots squelching in the mud from yesterday's rain, he looked up gratefully at the blue sky as he walked to his friend's house. He felt strange, like his mental faculties were hindered, but he attributed the feeling to fatigue and put it out of his mind.

When he knocked and opened the door to his destination, a little redheaded girl tackled him, hugging him in the doorway. "Link!"

Still anything _but_ energetic, he nearly fell over at the impact, but hugged her back. "Brittany...I'm glad you're awake. Are you feeling better?"

She pulled back, her usual energy making her blue eyes shine as she beamed at him. "Uh huh! Thank you for saving me!"

Her parents came down the stairs, various possessions in their arms, and smiled fondly. "Hello, Link. Did you sleep enough?" He nodded. "Brittany woke up feeling fine this morning, as if she had never been sick."

"We have you to thank for that," the father said. "What you did was stupid, but it was also very brave. Stan won't return from getting people settled into Castle Town until evening. I honestly don't think she would have lived long enough for him to arrive, return to Castle Town for a potion, and come back with it. There's nothing I can say to express how grateful we are to you."

"You're my hero!" Brittany declared, and Link blushed but enjoyed the praise.

"From now on, you're a part of our family."

"Speaking of which, I understand that you will be living with us when we go to Castle Town."

"Yes," he said quietly. "Can my dad live with us too?"

"Of course."

"Why is he still sleeping? Is he sick?"

"He's just getting older and needs more rest. It's odd. He went to bed early last night without a care, as if he knew that you'd come back safely. He told us he gave you permission to leave yesterday. Did he give you all that gear on your back?"

"Yes." Orca did give him the sword and shield, so it wasn't a complete lie. But Link kept the story of the bow and of his meeting with the princess secret, still not sure whether he himself believed it.

"It's strange that he gave you so much. I'm surprised you can walk with all of it, but I'm sure that Orca thought you were ready for them if he gave them to you. That man never does anything without thinking things through carefully. Anyway, we have to finish packing so we'll be ready to leave the moment Stan gets here. I'm sure you saw the new slash marks on the gate. More monsters have been appearing, and the Stalfos are smart enough to climb the steps and try to break in."

"The remaining men and I have kept them away so far, but that gate won't last much longer. Make sure you and your father are ready to go as soon as possible."

"And in the meantime, help yourself to any food we have. I still worry that you are so thin. Brittany, will you get something for him?"

"Okay, mom." She brought him some bread, water, and salted meat, which he consumed while her parents went back upstairs. "I don't think I've ever seen you eat so fast, Link!" she said with a giggle. Too focused on eating to explain that he hadn't eaten a full meal in days because of illness, Link merely said that he was hungry and ate until the food was gone. "Let's play now!"

It relieved him greatly that she was healthy. All was well in the world again, and life could return to normal. Once the business with moving was over, he could again focus on his goal of becoming strong like Stan, and he even had some new weapons for training. Content, Link was about to agree with her when suddenly his head began to hurt. His skin tingled as though numb, and he was acutely aware of everything, including the fact that he could not suffer more company than his own at the moment.

Having been staring at him, Brittany noticed his change in demeanor immediately. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. I—"

Mrs. Brandon came down the stairs. "You've suddenly gone pale. Are you all right?" The woman approached him and reached to touch his forehead. A memory flashed in his mind, a little boy being struck by his disappointed father, and he flinched away from her touch in a panic, falling from his chair. "Link!"

He rose and stumbled for the door, not looking at them. "I'm sorry, but I have to train now."

"But you just ate..."

"I'll see you all later."

He rushed from the house and did not stop until he was in the forest clearing. Why did he feel so strange, and why did that specific memory keep resurfacing? His father always stressed control in everything, always preached habit and discipline as a way to curb sloth and rashness, and no matter how big of a disappointment Link felt like sometimes, he had self-control. All the instances of his father yelling at him to "Pay attention!" and striking him had paid off: Link paid attention to everything and was especially conscious of his thoughts and feelings. Yet he had no control over the memory which had traumatized him for the past day. It was not natural. He could perhaps attribute the hallucination when he had actually _relived_ the experience to illness, but now he had no scapegoat.

Zelda's idea of a group using magic to terrorize Castle Town came back to him. It was a ridiculous notion. There was no such thing as magic. But if magic was mere just fantasy, then what of the "fire arrow" he shot last night? The knowledge of how to do it remained with him, though he knew not its origin. He somehow knew other things as well: he could only shoot one fire or ice arrow every few hours, for example. All the information had come to him seemingly from nowhere when he first held the Hero's Bow: an image of fire and ice had come unmotivated to him, just as the memory of a childhood beating did. Did that mean these two images had the same source? From magic, whatever magic was? Since one was a memory, did that mean the other was too?

His mental stress puzzled him as well. He had thought upon waking that it was a result of all his activity yesterday, but it remained even now when he was no longer hungry or fatigued. Link played the ocarina and swung his sword around, but the sensation persisted. Like the vivid images, it seemed unnatural, and desperate for a distraction, he eventually opened the bottle which the girl who may or may not have been Princess Zelda gave him.

On the back of the torn paper wrinkled and yellowed with age was a map with information every Hylian already knew. A general picture of Hyrule and its landmarks showed that the Lost Woods began at the kingdom's southern edge. With some difficulty he read the front, and its age was revealed again by archaic spellings of common words and strange sentence structure. Link identified the meaning of one section, though: the person who touched one piece of heart would never again have peace of mind until the whole jewel was assembled.

Fear gripped him as he came across this potential explanation for his anxiety, and he reread several times to make sure he inferred the correct meaning from the barely-legible passage. What kind of stupid book did this page come from? The princess must have been reading a fairy tale. Yet he could not ignore what he read. If it were true, it would explain Zelda's confidence that he would eventually get the second half of the jewel for her. Anger possessed him. She knew. She knew this would happen, that he would endure this torture, and she asked him to get that item in the dungeon for her anyway. Even worse, she wanted him to go to the Lost Woods, all for some blasted jewelry. Reaching into his pouch, he took the heart piece and threw it into the forest with all his might. Then he took off running back to the town's gate, the point in Kakariko furthest from the forest. The anxiety did not go away; it only worsened. After running back and recovering the ruby, he discovered to his horror that keeping it with him decreased his stress, meaning that what the book said could be true.

"Link?" Brittany came cautiously into the clearing, no longer happy and playful but worried. "Are you okay?"

Link kept his frustration hidden. "I'll be all right."

She stood next to him. Usually talkative, the young girl sensed something very wrong and had trouble finding words because of it. "When do you think Kakariko will be safe again?"

He shook his head, his mind on other matters. "I don't know."

"My mom says she doesn't think the monsters will be around much longer. Everyone's come up with a whole bunch of ways to get rid of him. Some say the monsters have come because the goddesses are angry about the war we had with the Gerudo. They say this will all go away if we pray hard enough for forgiveness."

"And Stan thinks burning down the Lost Woods will solve the problem," Link said, frightened by the possibility of such a thing happening while he was there.

"Yeah," she chirped, "so there's nothing to worry about. Don't be sad."

"Brittany…I have to tell you something. I'm going to the Lost Woods."

The shorter of the pair, she had to look up to study his serious expression. "You can't do that! Mom says people die when they go there! Stan's parents went in and never came out!"

"Someone has put a curse on me. Going there is the only way to fix it."

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I."

"There's no such thing as curses."

Smiling sadly, Link grabbed his bow and a single arrow. Concentrating, he shot into a puddle left from yesterday's storm. It instantly, and bits of water tossed by the small splash the arrow made fell as tiny chunks of ice. Brittany stared, amazed.

"Magic exists, and so do curses." He held the jewel to her. "There's another jewel like this somewhere in the Lost Woods. The curse won't go away until I find it."

"But it's so pretty…how could something so beautiful curse someone?"

"I don't know. Your birthday is in two days, isn't it? I'm afraid I might miss it, and I haven't gotten you anything yet. But I promise to make it up to you when I get back." He stood.

"You don't have to get me anything!" she said desperately, standing as well and hugging his arm to keep him from leaving. "The blue potion was present enough! Don't go! I don't want you to die," she cried.

Calmly, he untangled his arm. "I won't die." Zelda was no friend, but she had been calm when he climbed up the rope to her as though she knew he would not die in the pit. She had seemed confident when telling him to go to the Lost Woods as well, and he suspected he would not die there either.

"Just wait! We can ask Stan to go instead of you when he gets back. He's been training his whole life to become strong enough to kill the Kokiri and avenge his parents' deaths."

"It has to be me. All day, I've felt something strange, a pull to the south. The other gem is calling me to it. When Stan gets back, you must tell him not to burn down the Lost Woods until I get back." She cried freely now, and he awkwardly hugged her, not used to such contact with others. "You're the only one I can trust with this. I'm sorry." He left the clearing. She stayed behind and cried, and he realized that tears fell from his eyes also. Quickly, before anyone could ask what he was doing, Link ran into his house and began to pack.

"Oh…you're leaving…"

He froze. "Dad? I-I didn't know you were awake."

Orca wheezed and sat up on his bed. His dull eyes looked at him, and Link could not look back. "What are you doing, Link?"

"I—I don't know. A lot happened while I was away. Something has changed inside me. I feel like I've been thrust into another world."

"I see. And you're heading out to learn what you can about it."

"I know it's unreasonable, but—"

"It is not unreasonable. One cannot make sound judgment until he knows more about his situation. Go and find what you seek."

"You don't understand. I'm going to the Lost Woods."

Orca sighed heavily. He looked far older than Link had ever thought him to be, as though holding a great burden. "I knew you would leave me someday, Link. You cannot understand, but I knew from your birth that you were destined for great things. I have faith that you will return alive and well. That is why I gave you the sword and shield you now carry on your back."

"What are you talking about? You've never spoken of destiny before."

"You must leave quickly, if you want to go. Stan will be back soon, and the longer you delay, the greater the chance that someone will prevent you."

Link heard the phlegm in his father's chest and turned away. "I'll pack quickly."

"Stuff my bag with all the food you can find, and take your gloves and a blanket too. I'm sure you know this from your recent trip, but it's getting colder. Remember your training and stay focused at all times; they do not call that goddess-forsaken place the Lost Woods just because people who enter lose their way. The people who enter lose their _minds_."

* * *

Link did not travel with the same urgency which pushed him forward on his last two trips across Hyrule Field, for Brittany's life was no longer in danger. Curiously, he also did not have to run from monsters often, for they did not bother him as often as before, despite Mrs. Brandon's claim that they were becoming a bigger problem. Stalchildren still appeared and attacked, but did so infrequently enough that he could strike them down with a clumsy sword strike and recover before the next one appeared. His only motivation to run was to get to the forest before nightfall. He pondered the scarcity of attacks as he walked the seldom-traveled dirt path south. Zelda had said this would happen due to his new ability to use magic, but what did magic have to do with anything?

He walked and fought casually for hours, thankful that only Stalchildren bothered him, and the sun was setting as he neared the kingdom's edge. An old sign marked the end of Hyrule: _Lost Woods. Turn back, or be lost forever._

All around were graves for those who had ignored the sign's advice. He knew that a tombstone for Stan's parents lay somewhere. Before him loomed the forest that hugged the southern border, so vast that it could be a kingdom in and of itself, and as he stood only feet from where the trees began, a mortal terror seized him. This was the forest of legend where only fools and suicides ventured. The warmth of day left, and a cool breeze flowed from the wood, pushing him back as though warning him to go no farther.

Something stopped him from turning around, however. This was not for the princess. This was for _him_. Something waited for him in the forest. The stress on his mind was less unbearable, meaning he was close to the second heart piece. His own curiosity motivated him to stand his ground against the breeze which was somehow much colder than the air in Hyrule Field. The line of trees pulsed with the noise of insects many more in number than the ones in his own little forest back home, and the chorus of chaos was somehow very frightening. Link worked up his courage and, sword ready, entered the dark cover of the trees.

He crept slowly and cautiously, not knowing what to expect in the place he had heard so many stories about. He guarded himself constantly, taking in every detail the dimness would allow. Would one of the evil forest children leap out from behind a tree and curse him? What of the monstrous wolves he'd heard about? Would some other beast suddenly appear?

No. After ten minutes of wandering close to the forest's edge, he decided this was just an ordinary forest. Everything in it was comparable to the one he trained in. The leaves and needles under his feet, the look of the trees, and the noise of insects all pointed to ordinary circumstance. Emboldened, Link left the light of the kingdom completely and trekked deeper until he could no longer turn and see a treeless expanse beyond the trees.

The forest grew thicker at such a slow pace as to be imperceptible, and he did not notice it had done so until suddenly he looked around and noticed everything was closer together. He thought nothing of it and kept going. It was almost too dark to see now, and he concentrated on finding a place to sleep. The crowded trees would compromise the amount of room he had, but it would be better than sleeping in the field with Stalchildren.

A bit farther he saw that the forest only grew denser, and when he turned around to go back he no longer recognized the path. The trees seemed closer together than they had been, and fear quickened his breathing. In the small bit of moonlight and starlight that reached him through the trees, he could see his own breath, and he sensed a subtle energy around him. Something was off. This was not an ordinary forest after all. It seemed to close in on him, and he feared the trees would come closer and closer until they crushed him. He had to find a more open area _now_.

He ran—from what, he did not know—until he realized with a start that he was not going in the correct direction. He needed to get out, not go farther in. But everything looked the same. The pattern of increasing density disappeared, and everything grew the same way in each direction. He no longer knew where he had come from, and it was even darker now. Cursing himself for letting a moment's fear disorient him, he focused on slowing his breathing until he calmed enough to sort the situation out.

But then he heard a howl. Utterly unexpected among the monotony of the crying insects, it pierced the air and startled him out of his hard-earned composure. Judging from the loudness, it came from nearby. A Wolfos, Link thought to himself. Spinning in the direction of the sound, he backed up against a tree and readied himself in a defensive stance with his sword extended, terrified but ready to defend himself. His legs shook slightly. Wolfos were nothing like Stalchildren. They were ferociously strong and fast and traveled in packs. He'd never actually seen one, but he'd only heard of a few adults who lived through an encounter with one.

He frantically scanned the area and caught a movement in the darkness. Two glowing eyes reflected moonlight and slowly approached, staring him down. Link could not make out the shape of the creature, but he could see that it probably weighed more than he did and had fur. And he heard the threatening growl.

It howled again, tilting its head up so its eyes disappeared, and Link acted. The quick forward stab would have worked, but the creature looked back down just in time and backed out of range. Then it slashed powerfully with its paw at the weapon. Off-balance from the forward lunge, Link could not keep his grip on the sword. It fell onto the ground, and he knew that if he bent over to pick it up he'd be wide open for an attack. He waited for the beast's next move, and when it lifted its head to howl again Link took out the Hero's Bow. He focused all his energy into his hand, and when the creature looked back down it was met with a fire arrow to the face.

The flame lit the area briefly, but Link did not scrutinize his enemy. Instead he picked up his sword and ran as fast as he could while the beast howled once more, this time in pain. The agonized screech made his hair stand on end even as adrenaline propelled him away.

He stumbled through darkness, breathing heavily and keeping his arms in front of him so he could push away from trees as he ran into them. Soon he heard three more howls, all from different sources, and he understood the reason for the first creature's howling. Quick feet pounded the ground some fifty yards behind him. Panicking, he redoubled his efforts, but it only made him clumsier and slower. He tripped on the uneven terrain and slipped across wet leaves, never knowing whether the ground was going to dip down or turn into a hill. A sharp broken branch scratched his cheek as he moved against it, breaking the skin. He hissed and kept going.

The footsteps caught up quickly. Link was the fastest boy in his village, but he could not outrun four-legged animals, especially when he could not see. He tripped again, and this time he fell, but hitting the ground did not stop his inertia. The path ended and he rolled down a hill so steep he could not stop himself. Even when his back hit a tree with enough force to knock the wind out of him, he kept going down. After much spinning and frightened gasping, he fell off the end of the hill onto a flat area below. He was fortunate enough to land on his feet, but his momentum kept pushing him and he fell roughly onto his back with his feet pointing to where he had fallen from.

In control of his movement once more, he tried to stand but was too dizzy. Then to his confusion, he realized that he was in a clearing and, more importantly, that he could _see_ he was in a clearing. Before he had time to figure out how that could be, several Wolfos came bounding down the hill toward him. In the new light he took in the details of their forms: large, though he already knew that, with thick gray fur, bushy tails, pointed ears folded back, large paws, and fangs. Link clumsily pushed himself to his feet, though his world had not completely stopped spinning yet. Somehow, he had not lost his sword in the confusion, and he readied himself for what was sure to be a desperate battle.

But when they landed and spread out to attack him, they suddenly looked at something behind him and whimpered as though acting out some bizarre parody of house-dogs that were caught disobeying their masters. They retreated without hesitation back into the trees, some howling as they left. Link barely processed this sequence of events before a voice called out.

"Are you all right?"

Still keeping a firm grip on his blade, he saw the source of the light: flaming torches hung along a stone wall that seemed entirely out of place. But he didn't dwell on that for very long. He had been ready for another monster, but instead he beheld a beautiful girl glowing brightly in the light from the torches. She was about his height, but she didn't look like any other girl he'd met. Her clothes were all green, and she was fair, like she had never been exposed to sunlight. Her eyes were ordinary enough—blue, like those of most Hylians—but her hair was a vibrant green he'd never seen on top of anyone's head.

She stared at him in concern. She had asked if he was okay. Was he? He didn't know. He couldn't even tell if he was hallucinating. Was this girl real, or an illusion? She seemed to embody a world very different from his. Was she an angel? A fairy, perhaps, or a forest nymph?

She approached him, somehow moving silently despite stepping over plants and leaves and twigs. Her motions were natural, like she had been through here many times, unlike he, who paid great attention to his steps. She made so little noise with her feet that he wondered if she was an apparition walking on air.

"Are you all right?" she repeated in a sweet voice, loud and lyrical.

"I…" he started, but could think of nothing to say. He continued to stare, having no clue what was going on. He relaxed his grip and let his sword hang haphazardly at his side. "I…"

She closed the distance between them. "You have a gash below your eye. Did you get into a fight with the Wolfos? It's okay. They won't hurt you if I'm nearby." Very close to him now, she brushed his long bangs aside to examine the wound better, but when she saw his eyes she gasped softly. Link froze, too afraid to do so much as blink as she stared directly into his orbs, her own wide open and her mouth slightly agape as though astonished. He blushed at their proximity, but she did not notice or break her gaze. Just when he regained his senses, her pupils lit up with joy or recognition. "Link!" she cried happily, and the next moment she was hugging him, laughing and crying. She pressed her cheek to his, and he felt her smile against him and her tears wet his cheek.

For a minute he was too dazed to do anything. She had thrown herself at him with great force, and while they rocked back to a stable position, confusion and embarrassment made him a halfwit. Shrinking away was impossible while she held him in her arms, and he felt dizzy. But his brain eventually started working again, and he gently held her away at arm's length.

Her dazzling smile faded. "What's wrong, Link? Aren't you happy to see me?"

"How do you know my name?"

Her smile fell a bit more. "Don't you remember?" she asked in a heartbroken tone. He did not respond. "It's me."

"I don't believe we've met. I'd certainly remember someone like you."

"I'm Saria! Don't you remember?" she pleaded desperately. "We were best friends in the forest many decades ago. We were inseparable before you left."

"I'm only fourteen."

"Yes, fourteen decades sounds about right for you."

"No, I mean fourteen _years_. And I've never been here before."

"B-but…this is a joke, right? You're exactly as I remember you…a bit older, but still the same. And you reacted when I called you Link."

"That is my name, but I've lived in Kakariko Village my whole life."

"…If this is some kind of joke…" Her composure left her. "But no, you've never been the type to play a joke like this, have you?"

"No," he whispered. He did not bother telling her she did not actually know anything about him. He could hardly even look at her; before he came she had been an angel, but his arrival reduced her to a broken soul. He could not look away for long, though, because she needed a shoulder to cry on and chose his, hugging him fiercely again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," he said nervously. Link did not hug her back. He had never experienced such intimate contact, even with his father, and the strangeness of the situation immobilized him. He knew his face was turning red. Only guilt kept him from flinching away as he would usually do.

She cried for a while, and then with one last sniffle pulled away. She looked into his eyes forlorn but suddenly laughed when she saw the blush staining his cheeks. A little light returned to her eyes. "Oh, Link." She smiled. "You haven't changed a bit. You're so sweet and shy."

"I-I—" he searched for something to say and found nothing. His nervous rambling apparently did wonders for her mood: she giggled and dried her tears. But it wasn't right to let her keep thinking this way. With a surge of bold righteousness he gripped her shoulders harshly, ignoring how stupid and scared the contact made him feel. She stopped laughing at once and stared fearfully into his serious gaze. "Saria," he said quietly. His voice quivered, but conviction spurred him onward. "I can't let you fool yourself like this. I'm not who you think I am."

She abruptly jerked out of his grip and turned a cold shoulder, despondent again. "Well, then, stranger," she said tonelessly, "who are you and why have you come to the forest?"

He stopped himself from telling her his name was Link. "I'm from a village in Hyrule a day's walk from here. I'm looking for something called a heart piece."

"So you are a _Hylian_," she said callously, and Link already began to regret crushing her hope. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about a 'heart piece'. I'm aware of everything that happens here, so it seems you've come for nothing."

He sighed and looked at her, though she kept her back turned. "No. It's here. It may sound weird, but I can sense it. Are you sure you don't know anything about it? It's a beautiful jewel the size of a fist." He took his piece of the jewel from his pouch and showed it to her. "It combines with this one to form a broken-heart shape."

"I'm sorry. I've never seen such a jewel."

"Is there anyone else in the forest who might have?"

"No. There is no one else. I am the only person. No one knows anything about the forest that I don't."

"You...live here alone? But there's supposed to be an entire race of people here. Where are the Kokiri?"

She turned back to him. Her anger had dissipated, and now she looked horribly sad. "I'm the only Kokiri left."

"The people I'm talking about are a race of children. You're too big to be one of them."

"The changes only began recently. I was a foot shorter for two centuries until a couple of years ago."

Link quickly tired of this game of questions and answers. "Just…where are we, right now? That heart piece has been pulling me in this direction since before I left Hyrule, and it's stronger than ever here."

"We're at the Forest Temple." She gestured to the surroundings. "This is the only place I've ever known that has stone walls."

The wall behind her extended to the right beyond the light of the torches hanging from it, and outside the flame's illumination everything was flooded in darkness. But not too far away Link saw a gargantuan structure, a building which rose all the way to the treetops and probably farther, though he could not tell for certain. He could not discern any details other than its intimidating size, but he knew as he stared at it that this was his destination. "Then this is what I was drawn toward…"

"You're going in?" she asked apprehensively.

"Yes. I'm positive it's inside. Is there a way in?"

"You shouldn't go. A monster has gone inside and is tormenting the forest spirits, and I'm not strong enough to defeat it." Link eyed her critically. "I may not be very strong physically, but I know some powerful magic," she continued as though reading his thoughts. "I'm the guardian of the forest."

"I can use magic. Maybe together we can get rid of it."

She seemed genuinely surprised. "I don't sense an aura coming from you. Can you show me?"

"Well…I've kind of used all my energy," he confessed, embarrassed. "It will be a few hours before I can do anything."

"Hours? That's a slow recovery rate. Your magic must not be very powerful."

"It is. I took down a knight with it."

"You can control the flow of time?"

"Huh? No, I…a knight is a Hylian trained to fight for and serve Hyrule. I defeated a grown man in a full suit of armor."

"That doesn't mean anything to me. I have no idea how strong Hylians are. But even if we defeated the monster, the forest spirits would not allow you to roam inside long enough to find anything. You are an outsider, and you should go back to your home."

Her words stung, but he suspected that she was not as unfeeling as she let on. He feigned anger. "If you truly don't care about me, then you should have no problem pointing me to my death. How do I get in?"

Affected by his harsh words, her eyes softened. "You'd never be able to climb to the entrance when it's this dark. You should wait for morning."

"But…" he sighed. "All right. I'll go to sleep then. Will you show me when you wake up?"

She hesitated, but eventually gave in, sighing as well. "If you want me to," she spoke without emotion, though her eyes communicated great sadness.

"I'm sorry, again. I—"

"Go to sleep," she cut him off. "I'll help you in the morning."

She walked to a spot by the wall and covered herself with a blanket she had apparently set there before his arrival. Lying on her side, she faced the wall so that no matter where he chose to lie down he wouldn't be able to see her face. He took out his blanket and lay down where he stood, closing his eyes and attempting to forget his troubles. No matter how hard he tried, though, the memory of her sobs echoed in his ears.

* * *

He woke with a shiver. "Good morning. It looks like your blanket didn't do much to shield you from the cold. Are you well?"

"Yes." He stood and shook himself as a dog would shake cold water from its body. He let his blanket hang on his shoulder as he took in his surroundings. Last night he could have been forgiven for thinking he was in an ordinary forest, but in the morning light the woods looked entirely different. The trees which had seemed ordinary had features that were completely foreign to him: some were like those he saw at home, but others had thorns or strange-looking fruit or leaves in shapes he'd never seen or barren, gnarled branches. "What is this place?"

"Nothing's happened. You're where you were last night."

His eyes rested on the Forest Temple, made entirely of carved stone. The moss and plants covering it gave it a timeless quality. Vines starting from the ground attached to the walls and grew upward the entire height of the magnificent structure, twisting around each other and providing thick cover with their leaves and grappling roots: little of the outer surface was visible. The temple seemed to have been swallowed whole by the forest.

He stared in awe. "Wow…"

"Are you sure you want to do this? Really, really sure?"

Link turned away from the incredible sight, wondering why she was suddenly worried when last night she didn't seem to care. "Yes," he said guardedly. "You'll show me the way in, right? I can't see any entrance through all the vines."

"Not until I make sure you're as good with magic as you say. You've had plenty of time to recover. Now show me what you can do."

"You want me to expend all my energy now? If I do that, we'll have to wait again before we can go."

"Not all of it. Just show me one attack."

He blinked. "One attack is all I can do."

"Just one? If that's so, then you're not ready. This isn't just a Wolfos or a Deku Scrub we're dealing with." He did not bother asking what a Deku Scrub was. "You need more training before I can let you go in there."

"Are you telling me I can become more powerful?" he asked, amazed. "I didn't realize magic was something you could train at. I've only recently been able to use it."

"I've been practicing magic for over a century. You have a lot to learn. But first we're going to my house. I'm hungry."

His belongings still lay scattered on the ground, but she did not allow him time to gather them before walking away, nor did she pause in her walk to turn back and make sure he was following. She went quickly, and Link scrambled pack and catch up. "Hey!" He was reminded of the way Laura abandoned him in the marketplace, and his mood soured.

The walk lasted several hours, and at random intervals Link asked how far her home was. She did not seem to want to talk, though, never bothering to so much as look at him except for the occasional quick glance that always ended the moment he caught her. As he followed, he became aware of an energy all around him. It was not the pull he had been feeling earlier, which was weakening with each step away from the Forest Temple, and he realized at once that this energy must have been what made the Lost Woods special. It did not bother him, but it was strange and he did not know what to make of it.

"Are you going to turn me into a Stalchild?" he asked with the utmost gravity, and it caught her attention more than anything he had yet said. She looked at him with an odd expression on her face as though trying to figure out if he was joking.

"…Why would I do that?"

"Aren't Kokiri supposed to torture Hylians who wander here and turn them into monsters?"

"No. The Kokiri lack that ability. It's the forest that does that. Kokiri are actually able to prevent that from happening. You won't turn into a Stalchild as long as I'm with you."

As he digested this surprising new information and tried to judge if she was being truthful, the trees gave way to an opening. At the bottom of a hill they came into an eerily silent village unlike any in Hyrule. The air was alive with glowing things and the strange magic that pervaded everything in this forest, but he could no longer feel the pull toward the Temple, and as a result the town felt remote, desolate. There were houses made from the stumps of giant trees as large around as Link's own home, yet he heard no people. A stream ran through the village, and that was the most sound he heard above the insects.

"What are those glowing bugs in the air?"

"Fairies. Have you never seen one before?"

He shook his head. "They're beautiful."

"They're common around here, but they can't do much. They might as well be ordinary insects. You should see the strong ones. They're the prettiest of all."

Link could not fathom a being more magical than the ones he saw drifting lazily and gracefully through the air, leaving glowing trails that mesmerized him. She led him into what he assumed was her house through a door-sized opening with no actual door covering it. Once inside, Saria hung a blanket to cover it.

The floor, walls, and ceiling were all part of the large carving made into the tree. The table and bed were wooden as well, attached to the floor as part of the carving. Save for a few blankets and oddities he could not identify, the home was barren. He had not been hungry when they left the stone walls, but now, several hours later, his stomach voiced its complaints in a loud rumble.

"What do you eat here?"

"Fruits and whatever small animals I can shoot with my bow. Sometimes fish. You should wash that cut on your face. Go the stream. I'll get some food."

He did as asked, not wanting to push her when she spoke in that emotionless tone. Outside he quickly grew annoyed of the fairies flying about him near the water despite his prior fascination with them. He used the water sparingly, for it was very cold, and quickly retreated back indoors, by which time she had placed a small amount of food on the table.

"What are these?"

"Deku berries. You and I used to—" She suddenly paused and tensed as though she had been struck. She looked at him briefly, waiting for a response, but he did not know what to say. Sadness crept onto her emotionless mask and she turned away from him.

Link heard nothing. Saria did not cry or speak or even move. He took in the emptiness of the house and the village and felt like scum. This solitude was what he always wished for. Saria didn't want it, but fate had forced it upon her and she suffered from it enough to make her cold to strangers. It had made her cry last night. No, _he_ had made her cry last night. He was not the comforting type, but this was entirely his fault. Taking responsibility for one's actions was part of growing up, he had been told many times, and Link felt now more than ever that he needed to grow up fast.

"Look," he began, pushing through the awkwardness, "I'm not who you thought I was, but that doesn't mean we have to be like this." She didn't respond. "You look like you could use a friend. I could use one too. I don't have many friends. Most people don't want anything to do with me. What do you say we start over? I'm Link," he finished, extending his hand toward her.

She sniffed one last time, looked at him, smiled appreciatively, and blinked moisture from her eyes. "I'm Saria." She looked genuinely happy as she shook hands with him, and then she returned her attention to the food. "These may look weird to you, but they're delicious," Her words carried a friendly manner which greatly relieved him. "Try some. ...What's wrong?" she asked, noticing his expression when he placed some in his mouth.

"They're terrible," he said, grimacing. She stared blankly for a moment before bursting out in laughter. "What's so funny?" he asked, uncomfortable with being laughed at. Where had the melancholy girl from earlier gone?

"Oh, it's…it's nothing," she said, calming down. "You just reminded me of someone. Are you going to eat any more?" His stomach said yes, but his taste buds—and therefore his tongue—said no. "All right. You still want to go into the Forest Temple, don't you? You have to become better with magic first. Come with me. I can train you."

He happily followed her out of the house. A path similar to the one leading to Kakariko's graveyard squeezed between two hills and opened up later on into an enormous clearing. Here, the energy in the air felt more powerful than ever. A very large tree stood not too far away, but it only occupied a small part of the area. The rest was open, treeless except for the surroundings, where on each side it became forest again.

"This is where the old guardian of the forest, the Great Deku Tree, used to live. He is dead, and no evidence of him remains any more. The Deku Sprout over there," she pointed to the tree, which looked much larger than anything Link would call a sprout, "is the new guardian of the forest, but as you can see, he's not moving." He chose not to ask why a tree would move. "The monster in the Forest Temple put a curse on him, so I'm the guardian until I can kill the monster and lift the curse."

"So you need to kill the monster even more than I do…"

"Yes. Now show me what you can do."

Link fumbled with the Hero's Bow, aimed straight up at the open sky, and shot a fire arrow. He stared proudly as the flame climbed through the air, but his teacher looked less impressed.

"Hm…You can only do one of those?"

"Yes. I have a little bit of mana left, but not enough for another attack."

"So you attached a bit of fire energy to the point of an arrow before shooting it."

He could not help feeling slighted by how simple she made it sound. "I can use ice energy also."

"I hate to say it, but you need a _lot_ of training. You have very little stamina, and your attack isn't that powerful." Link's heart sank. "But don't worry. That's why we're here," she said, smiling. He could not help thinking she looked much more like the angel from last night while she smiled. "Who taught you?"

"Nobody. I found this bow while looking for the first heart piece, and when I picked it up, it was like I suddenly knew, like the power had been there all along and my hands just needed to feel a good bow to remember."

"That makes sense. Sometimes in unusual situations, magic can be awakened in a person like that. If you didn't learn it from another person, though, learning from me will be more difficult. Relax your arms by your side with your palms facing outward. Focus like you would normally do, but confine the power in your hands."

Link obeyed, trying to imagine the method of shooting a fire arrow without the bow, but he couldn't do it. Without an external object to focus on, he was clueless and could do no more than create random currents in his body, a mass of tributaries within him all going in different directions with different intensities. A bit of mana found its way into his hands by accident, but he could not contain it before it dissipated into the air.

"It's okay if you don't get it on your first few tries. This kind of thing takes practice. Try to imitate me." Effortlessly she drew enough magic into her hands to produce brilliant spheres of green light.

Twice more he tried and failed, and on the third round he could not even stir up the random currents. Link felt empty. His mana, the energy he had always had but never knew how to use, was almost completely drained, and he felt that part of his very spirit was gone. His presence in the world seemed less significant, less real, as though he might fade away at any moment. He could not seem to take in enough air as a fatigue very different from any physical one possessed him. Yet Saria did not seem affected by her own efforts. She had spent as much energy as he had, probably more, but her mana reserves were obviously much greater than his. An overwhelming sense of inferiority took hold as he remembered how the Wolfos had nearly killed him but fled the moment they saw her.

"Saria…" he panted. "Do you really need to be wasting your time doing this? You're obviously far, far better at this than I am. How much help could I possibly be to you?"

"I can't beat the monster alone, Link. My magic is strong, but I don't know many good offensive spells. I mostly use mana to help plants grow larger and stronger." She bent down and tapped a small weed with her index finger, infusing it with a sliver of green energy. Almost instantly it burst forth in bloom, rising a foot off the ground and presenting a bouquet of wildflowers. "It's useful for a forest guardian, but not so much for a fighter. I have a few little tricks, but I still need help. You can create fire and ice. Your method is crude and inefficient, but it's still handy."

"Are you going to teach me what you can do?"

"No. My abilities would take years to learn, and even if we had that long, you're not ready. No new spells. Instead we're going to focus entirely on your endurance. Only being able to do one attack before tiring out will not get you far."

This was all exhilarating to Link. With Orca confined indoors and Stan always away from Kakariko, he had not had an instructor in a long time. "So how will we do that?" he asked excitedly.

"The same way you build up physical endurance: with practice. I'm going to teach you to be more efficient with your mana, and practicing every day will improve your stamina. Let's take a break for now. We'll try again in a few hours."

He nodded in agreement, still breathing deeply, but something gave him pause. He felt more energetic than he should have: not enough for another try at mana control, but he suspected it would take less than a few hours to recover. He looked around in wonder. "Ever since I came to the forest, I've sensed a strange energy in the air, and it's strongest in this clearing."

"It's coming from the Deku Sprout. That is how it influences the rest of the woods from one spot."

"I'm recovering faster than I should be, but it's not my doing. It's that stuff in the air."

"Hm…I didn't realize it was still strong enough to speed up recovery."

"It used to be _stronger_?"

"Yes. The monster has been consuming it all, and the forest has been gradually dying. To me, this doesn't feel like anything. But it energizes you?"

"I can already feel mana coming back to me." His eyes lit up. "Does the energy speed up recovery from physical exhaustion too?"

"It heals everything. It used to be the source of my eternal youth before it started dwindling."

Link looked around in awe. This place was infinitely better for training than the forest clearing in Kakariko. With all the magic in the air, he could do more training per day. There was much more room too. And best of all, it was wholly secluded. He had no ties to any village or person, no tough family or societal issues to deal with. As he dwelled on this safe haven, his dream of becoming stronger seemed within his grasp. He drew his sword.

She seemed surprised by his determination. "You're going to keep training?"

"I need to get better, right?" he answered simply, masking his eagerness. "While I wait for my mana to recover, I'm going to train the way I normally do. This sword and bow are still new to me. They're heavy and awkward to wield. I have to get used to them."

"And you want to work with magic again after that?"

He answered with a word, already going through his stretches.

* * *

A long time later, Link lay sprawled on his back, weary but satisfied. Saria was still not tired. She had not done any physical routines, instead preferring to watch in fascination, and again her mana reserves withstood the other part of practice much better than Link's did. At the same time their stomachs rumbled loudly, and they laughed.

"Let's go back to my place and eat more. I know you didn't have much before this."

"I don't suppose there's anything else, is there?" he asked when she placed more Deku berries on the table inside her home.

"Nope. I'll get some fish or something different tomorrow. But please eat. You look very thin. Have you been sick lately?" He blinked in surprise at her concern and at the accuracy of her guess. "You need to eat plenty to gain back the weight you lost, especially if you plan on continuing to work as hard as you did today."

"I guess I'll have to get used to the taste, huh?" He chewed and swallowed quickly, sticking his tongue out every so often. "They're very sour."

"I think they're good."

She ate the fruit without a problem, and while she was distracted curiosity overcame him. "Who is Link? The boy you knew a long time ago, I mean. Please don't get upset," he added quickly. "I just want to know. You said he looks like me?"

She handled the situation better than he expected. Her lips curled downward slightly, but she seemed more thoughtful than upset. He decided again that she didn't look quite right without a smile. "Back when the forest used to be full of Kokiri, he and I were best friends. I only knew him for ten years, though."

"_Only_ ten years? How old are you?"

She grinned. "I've lost count, but it's much, _much_ more than ten. Anyway, I knew him from when he was just an infant, but ten years later, just as he reached the same size as the rest of us, he left the forest and I never saw him again. He said he was searching for 'spiritual stones' or something like that."

Link spit out the berries he was chewing. "You knew the legendary hero?!"

"Legendary Hero?" Saria asked, but she was more focused on the chewed mess she now had to clean up than on Link. She grumbled, and he apologized sheepishly before continuing.

"Haven't you heard the story of the Hero of Time, the Princess of Destiny, and the King of Evil?"

"No…I'm pretty sure I haven't heard anything like that."

"It happened 130 years ago. You must have seen it happen. The King of Evil, a man from the desert, took a piece of the Triforce and plunged Hyrule into darkness for seven years. Are you sure you don't remember anything like that happening?"

"I don't even know what a 'Triforce' is. Though Link did leave about 130 years ago and there was a seven-year period when the forest was taken over by monsters…"

"The Hero of Time and Princess of Destiny collected three Spiritual Stones to try to defeat the desert man," Link explained, citing a well-known fact. "The Link you knew must have been the Hero. He helped save all of Hyrule. His adventures are the kind of stories kids tell around campfires. But wait…that's impossible. The Hero of Time was an adult. Kokiri don't age, do they? I mean, you did recently, but before that no one else did, right?"

"Link…wasn't a Kokiri," she said quietly, sadly. "I always knew there was something special about him, something that made him different. When he told me he was leaving, I wasn't scared. I knew he wouldn't die, even though every Kokiri who ever left the forest died. But I still have no idea what happened to him, even after all these years."

"No one really knows what happened to Link after he saved Hyrule. Some say he went back to his childhood home, but I guess not, since you haven't seen him."

"Link, I…" she hesitated, eyes beginning to glisten, and he knew this was hard for her to talk about. "Who was the girl Link ended up with?"

"You mean who did he marry?"

"What does 'marry' mean? The Great Deku Tree told me once that Hylian men and women form powerful emotional bonds and then new Hylians are born. Who did Link pick? Was she nice?" A small smile appeared on her face, and he imagined she was hoping that her friend had lived happily after leaving.

Unfortunately, he had no such information to give. "How would I know?"

"You're obviously his descendent. You would probably know better than anyone."

"Sorry, but I'm not. I can trace my dad's lineage to back before the Hero of Time was born."

"What about your mother's?"

"Hers too."

She let the conversation die and looked outside. "I can't believe it's already this late. It felt like you were never going to get done training. Your desire to get stronger is just like his was. He always tried to better himself so he'd be better able to help the ones he loved and so Mido wouldn't be able to pick on him."

"Who's Mido?"

"He was another Kokiri. He and Link didn't always get along. He was a jerk sometimes, but I still miss him. I miss everyone."

"What happened to them?" he asked, almost afraid of how she would react.

She didn't answer fight away, and he thought she had gone back to giving him the silent treatment. "…I don't remember."

"You don't? But you remember details about them before they left, don't you?"

"I can't explain it, but I honestly don't know. I know it happened after Link left, but long stretches of time are missing from my memory."

They talked on and on, occasionally leaving for water but mostly sitting in her house chatting. Link's throat grew sore, and he marveled at how much he had spoken today. He couldn't remember ever opening up like this to anyone. Something about her playful nature was contagious.

"Hey, what's that?" She pointed to a bulge in one of his pockets.

"This?" He pulled his ocarina out, and she stared intently. "What?"

She broke her gaze quickly as though embarrassed. "Oh, nothing." He looked at her, unconvinced, and she offered more explanation. "For a second I was sure your ocarina was the one I made for Link long ago."

"I got this for my birthday a few years back. Hey, if you can make one, that must mean you can play too, right?"

She smiled proudly and showed off her own ocarina—green, of course. "I play all the time. Are you good?"

"Not really. I have to practice in secret because my dad doesn't like me doing it, and I don't get as much time to myself as I'd like."

"Why don't you show me what you can do?"

Link played a simple melody, the one he often played for Brittany, and Saria responded with a countermelody. "Wow, did you make that up just now?" he asked.

"I have a lot of time to practice. The forest spirits love it when I play certain songs."

They played late into the night. Link never knew that playing the ocarina with someone else could be so much fun. She could instantly memorize, counter, and accompany anything he played, and he found playing with her much more productive than his usual solo sessions. A small lit torch guarded them against the darkness, and he didn't realize how late it was until she yawned.

"We should get some sleep," she said contentedly. "You can use the bed if you want. You don't need to sleep on the ground like we did last night.

"Thanks." Her bed was not very soft—only two blankets cushioned any who lay on it against the wood—but it was indoors away from the cold wind, and Link slid gratefully under the blanket. "This is a big bed," he observed aloud.

"Yeah." He stiffened when she slipped under the blanket with him and looked at her questioningly. She averted her gaze shyly. "You don't mind, do you? It's just…you remind me so much of Link, and he and I used to share a bed when one of us felt bad."

"I-I…sure. That's okay." He turned away from her, tense and self-conscious, and they said their goodnights. Really, he reasoned, he could deal with being with a girl in the same bed. If she wanted to, it didn't bother him. All he had to do was fall asleep before he thought about it too much. He had willpower. He could do it.

Half an hour later, he finally attained an inner calm and was about to drift off when he heard a tremendous roar. Loud as thunder, it jolted him out of his peace. A possible answer to what the noise was came, but he dismissed it, thinking surely she was playing a joke.

As the seconds ticked by, however, the possibility for that became smaller and smaller. The incredible snoring was real. His eyes opened wide in disbelief. How could such a loud noise come from such a small person? He received another shock when she wrapped her arms around him in her sleep and cuddled against him. He enjoyed the warmth, but the physical contact made him nervous and uncomfortable. She had secured herself around him in such a way that any attempt to escape her grip would wake her, though, so the best he could do was blush. He wondered what would happen if anyone saw them in this position. He imagined Stan smirking at him and raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Link desperately closed his eyes and shut out all thought.

* * *

He couldn't help but notice the next day that she seemed very happy. He did not ask why, not wanting to do anything that might change it, but she looked at him with an odd fondness the whole morning. He supposed she was just grateful for the company, and of course for his promise to help her kill the monster, or else she was glad that she had been able to talk about what was bothering her yesterday. She giggled, looking as though she hadn't had this much fun in ages.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Has anyone ever told you your clothes look funny?" She smiled cutely.

"Huh?"

"You used to wear all green so you stood out as little as possible. Your brown outfit sticks out like a sore thumb!"

He guessed that she was talking about the other Link, and he did not correct her for fear of ruining her cheer. At the same time, though, he was a little unnerved that she knew why he dressed the way he did. "Brown may not blend as well as green in the forest, but it goes perfectly with the buildings in Kakariko. Plus it's what Stan wears."

"Who's Stan?"

"Stan is my hero. He's like an older brother, though we're not related by blood."

"So he's another Hylian?"

"Yes. He's bigger and stronger than I am, and he's probably one of the best swordsmen in the world. He helped my dad teach me how to use a sword."

"And you feel like you have to be like him?"

"No. I _want_ to be like him. He's strong, brave, skilled, and confident: a true hero."

"Wow…he must be great if you look up to him."

"Yes. That's why I want to keep training. Are you ready?"

"We just ate breakfast. Aren't you still tired from yesterday? It looked like it took all your strength just to get out of bed." Not as much strength as it took to stay _in_ bed last night, he thought, but he held his tongue. He felt as though she were reading his mind, though, when she grinned slyly.

"What is it?"

"You were about to say something, weren't you?"

"No," he answered calmly, "I was just wondering what Stan and my dad were doing."

"You're lying." Her grin grew larger. "You can't fool me. You were always good at deceiving others, but I know your sneaky side better than anyone."

His mouth opened partly and he realized she wasn't bluffing. It seemed she was mixing him up with her friend from the past again, but apparently he and the other Link shared several common personality traits. She must have been even closer to that boy than he thought.

"L-Let's just get to training," he stuttered. She beamed victoriously, likely inferring from his wavering tone that she had been correct, but said nothing as they went to the clearing.

Link found when he attempted the magic control exercises from yesterday that he was slightly better at them. Only slightly, but it was an encouraging improvement. After using up his mana, he took out his Hero Bow, but she stopped him after watching some of his exercises. "Have you ever had a teacher in archery?"

"No. Is it that obvious?"

"You've come a long way for being self-taught, but let me show you the proper technique for stringing a bow." She took it from him. "Oh, wow, this is really well-made. It was obviously meant for someone very strong." She tried to pull the string back, and he laughed at how hard it was for her. "Oh, be quiet! So I don't have a lot of upper body strength. Big deal!" She stuck her tongue out. "There! Phew! Now watch. See that broken limb over there? I'm going to hit the very end of it." Her aim was true, and he stopped laughing.

"Wow. That was great. Your method is very different from mine."

"Since all you can do with magic is make your arrows more powerful, I should help you improve your accuracy."

Link bubbled with even more excitement than he'd had in their last training session. He now had a teacher in magic, music, _and_ archery! The revelation overpowered the fatigue from his magic training, and he let her instruct him. Once that was over, he once more fell into the poses and postures Orca had taught him and tried to get used to his heavy sword. Then they repeated the pattern from yesterday, jumping right back into practicing magic after he tired himself physically. Before long, Link felt ready to collapse.

Saria looked somewhat tired too, having practiced the poses with him out of curiosity, but her eyes danced playfully. "Hey, now that we're done training, what do you say we play a game?"

Link stared at her intriguingly, wondering how she could ask him something like that when he was this tired. "What kind of game?"

"You like running, right?" He nodded, ignoring the impulse to ask how she knew. "Then come on!"

She grabbed his hand and ran happily, pulling him along. He pondered the physical contact and came to the conclusion she used to doing this with her old friends and that the Kokiri must have been a very…physical race.

* * *

They ran through the forest laughing and never stopping, the woods possessing a vitality which gave them boundless energy. Link continued to run from the one who had for an hour now chased him. She was fast, he long ago realized, and that made their game all the more exciting.

The forest was rank with beauty. Strange sights and smells assaulted him constantly in large doses, but never with any regular pattern. It was all too much for his senses, yet he wanted more. Colors and plants he had never seen grew in copious amounts, urging him onward. The air was heavy with fragrances lovely and putrid. This was the forest of life in all its chaos, beauty, ugliness, and variety. Link loved it. He never wanted it to end.

But Saria lunged forward and finally caught him, bringing both of them down with a tackle. Laughing triumphantly, she tried to keep him pinned, but he used his superior arm strength to flip onto his back underneath her. From there they both seemed about to struggle against the other but then laughed for no reason, panting heavily from the chase. Their clothes were damp with perspiration and stuck to their skin. He couldn't remember ever having this much fun. He looked up at the girl who had changed his life in such a short time. As she leaned over him, her hair fell about her face and her damp shirt hugged her chest, which moved up and down with her heavy breathing. Saria was everything he liked about the forest: wild, energetic, and beautiful. But at the same time he also sensed a truly loving and caring person.

Drunk with ecstasy, they stared into each other's eyes, and he returned her overjoyed expression. "Oh, Link." Her eyes sparkled with happiness. "I'm so glad you're here with me." He nodded in agreement. Some immensely important message, a warning, clawed at the back of his mind, but he ignored it in his euphoric state. He was having too much fun to even think about thinking. "Before you left, I never showed you how much you mean to me." The warning grew louder. Left? When did he leave her? He just met her two days ago. "But now you're here and I will hold nothing back." She took his hand and placed it over her heart.

Link's smile vanished. At once he came out of the trance the forest had put him in. Saria was not playing with fourteen-year-old Link from Kakariko Village. Her overly happy demeanor and the way she addressed him as someone else that morning suddenly made sense. _She still thought he was her Link._

Frightened and angry at himself for not figuring it out sooner and not knowing what to do now that he had figured it out, he yanked his hand away from her with the speed of a man trying to escape a guillotine. His already elevated heart rate increased as he looked up at her.

She grabbed his hand again. "Don't be afraid," she whispered, eyes pleading.

"N-no," he said, barely louder than she. A million thoughts raced through his head, the most prominent of which were that this wasn't right, the thick forest air had suddenly become oppressive, he had never been this close to a woman before, and that Saria was very, _very_ pretty. All the alarms going off in his mind made it difficult to speak. "I'm n-not who you think I am." He had to get out. It was all too much: too much life, too much sensation, too much energy, and no way to control it, no way to get rid of it, no way to cultivate it. At once he realized how Hylians who ventured into the Lost Woods lost their minds.

"But you are," she whispered, placing her free hand tenderly on his cheek. "If not the one I knew, you're surely his reincarnation. There are ways you move that in a thousand years I wouldn't forget. You are one with him, and thus one with me."

"N-no. I would remember—"

"Shh…" she placed a finger over his lips. His eyes communicated shock and wonder. Among questions of whether Kokiri knew anything about romance, he was filled with fear as she leaned down to him. Her face inched toward his. Close, closer, dangerously close. Her breath blew into his mouth, intoxicating him. She shut her eyes.

If not for the energy from the forest flowing through him, he might have remained still. But mingled fear and courage propelled him into a sitting position. He squirmed out from beneath her and backed away on all fours. She opened her eyes and sat up as well when she no longer felt him, and when she realized what happened she wore the most heartbroken expression he had ever seen.

"L-Link," she choked out. And then she cried. She did not move any closer or farther away. She did not rage at him or apologize. She just covered her face with her hands and bawled her heart out.

Link cursed himself for the incident he had caused. Overcome by pity for this lonely girl, he cautiously approached and hugged her. She returned the gesture, latching onto him as though he were her only hold in this world, and burrowed into his arms. He'd never been this close to a girl before, and it disgusted him that his keen awareness of how soft and warm she was overpowered the part of his brain that scrambled to come up with some comforting words.

She saved him by speaking first, however. "It's okay. Even if you don't remember me, you've finally come back. I've been waiting so long…" Both happiness and despondence carried her words, and she kept crying. Not knowing what else to do, he simply hugged her tightly, waiting for her to calm down. He forgot about himself and the forest and the world and devoted himself to being her outlet.


	5. A Lonely Soul, Part II

Chapter 5: "A Lonely Soul, Part II"

Saria and Link continued to train and enjoy each other's company. Exhaustion plagued him constantly, but he delighted in applying the discipline his father instilled in him to the training which marked the beginning, middle, and end of each day. He pursued his goal to become strong so tirelessly that he sometimes forgot his teacher's presence, but he made up for it by spending the whole of his free time with her.

It amazed him how easily he opened up to Saria. She seemed to know him better than the people who had known him his whole life, and he in turn tried to understand her. Occasionally he saw the affectionate look she gave him when they first met, but in his nervousness he did nothing, and the situation always reverted to a more comfortable one.

Their routine persisted until the air grew colder with the approach of the dead season. It served as an addictive stress reliever for Link, keeping his mind off the anxiety caused by his curse, but one day he felt unusually restless. The woods seemed more crowded, and the forest's magic, which he thought he had gotten used to, aggravated him. Saria noticed and sympathetically ended their training early, but that only made him more frustrated.

He went to bed unsatisfied, and upon waking he realized he had forgotten his reason for coming to the Lost Woods: he got so caught up in getting stronger and having fun with his new friend that he had forgotten the heart piece, the outside world, and even his fear that the knights would burn the forest down while he was inside it. Alarmed, he stopped Saria before she could lead him to the great clearing.

"It ends today."

She understood instantly, and her smile faltered. "Today? But…you're not ready. You still need more training." Her voice lacked conviction, and he sensed more behind her reluctance than their safety.

"We've been at it for over a month. I trained every day until I dropped, and you were with me at every step. But the monster is getting stronger too, isn't it?" She asked with her eyes how he could know such a thing. "The forest's energy has decreased. I didn't notice at first, but now the change is too big not to notice, even for someone as new to magic as I am. The monster's responsible for that, right?"

"Yes. It's eating the energy."

"That means if we wait too long, it will be too powerful to stop. And I'm worried about my friends in Hyrule. Being free from everyone...hasn't turned out like I thought it would. I liked it at first...but I've been selfish. I haven't given anyone a thought since coming here. I have to get the second heart piece, and after that I want to see Brittany and my dad and Stan. By now Stan's probably helped solve the problem with the Stalchildren and Stalfos in Hyrule, but I still want to make sure they're safe. And...they're probably worried about me too."

Amazed by the lengthy speech that was completely out of character for her friend, she sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Link. I've been selfish as well. We should have gone already, but I knew you'd go back to your home once you were done, and I wasn't ready for that. But you're right. The monster will kill everything if I allow it to live much longer. The trees have no vigor left." A determination he had not seen in her up to this point showed on her face. "We'll leave this afternoon."

"Why not now?"

She smiled lightly. "That's so like you. You haven't even noticed how tired you are."

"I feel normal," he said, perplexed.

"You always start training long before you've recovered from your previous session. You're still not fully rested from last night. Also…" she looked slightly embarrassed, "…I want to spend a little more time with you before you go."

He returned her playful grin. "I suppose it wouldn't feel right to leave so suddenly."

"Well, if we're not leaving yet, I have something for you." Reaching into her pocket, she removed an ocarina he'd not seen before. "I've had a lot of fun with you, but I know you have a life outside the forest you need to get back to. I saw that your ocarina was old and damaged, so I made you a new one." She handed it to him. "It's brown, just like your clothes. Please take good care of it."

"Saria…this is wonderful. Thank you." He fumbled with it in his hands, feeling how smooth and carefully carved it was. It made his old ocarina seem like junk.

Her expression saddened a bit. "Link…about what happened in the Lost Woods a while back…"

Her breach of their unspoken agreement not to speak of that event created a rare moment of tension. "Please don't."

She seemed possessed with both profound sadness and the utmost glee. "You're my best friend, Link. And it's not just because you're the only person I've been able to talk to in years. I really like being with you."

"You're not best friends with me. You're best friends with a boy you knew over a century ago."

"Even if for a single moment I could convince myself that you and he are not the same person, it wouldn't change the time we've had together. I don't remember every part of my life, but two years ago I suddenly found myself alone, and these past few weeks with you mean a lot to me. That's why I want to teach you my special song, 'Saria's Song'. I wrote it when the Kokiri still existed, and I taught it to you 130 years ago just before you left. Will you learn it?"

He nodded. She placed her green ocarina to her lips, playing a simple lighthearted melody that mesmerized Link. He wondered if this song meant as much to her as the lullaby he frequently played meant to Brittany and felt honored that she was sharing it with him. When she finished, he put his new ocarina to his lips and tried to copy her. She instructed him until he could play it correctly, and then while he played the melody she played an accompaniment, together creating a song that Link thought suited her perfectly. Afterward she still seemed sad, but significantly better.

"That's a pretty tune." He felt an urge to do something more to cheer her up, but could think of nothing.

"When you play it, I hope you will think of me and come back to the forest to visit." Overcome with emotion, she began an embrace which he returned, and when they broke apart she looked more serious than he had ever seen her. "Eat. Sleep. Do whatever you need to make sure you're in top form later. Our trip shouldn't last more than a day, but it won't be easy."

They napped in her bed the rest of the morning. After a heavy meal, they silently decided to have one last chat before they began the trip which would end with Link's departure.

"You aren't bringing that, are you?"

"Yes."

"You've gotten better with your sword since coming here, but you still can't use your shield well. It's too big. It will only get in the way."

"My dad told me to keep this sword and shield with me at all times. People think he's senile, but I'm sure he had a reason for giving it to me. He must know something I don't."

"Like the princess?"

"Yes, except he cares about much more than some stupid jewel. From what he said when I left, I think he sees this as additional training for me."

"Well, you have been training a lot."

"Yeah. Speaking of which, I'm really excited to see what you can do when we get to the Forest Temple," he said quietly but enthusiastically. "You said you can do much more than what you've shown me, right?"

She blushed lightly. "You'll just have to wait and see," she teased.

At length the forest became less bright, and Link kept glancing outside nervously. "Killing the monster will lift the curse on the Deku Sprout, and then you'll have someone to talk to when I'm gone, right?"

"Yes."

He paused before his next question. "…Do you think it will bring the other Kokiri back?"

"I don't know. But…I don't think so. Something else happened to them, something unrelated to the thing in the Forest Temple. I remember realizing they were gone a few days before the monster appeared."

"And that was two years ago, when you first started aging?"

"I had no idea what was happening. I just lived day by day, trying to find a way to kill the thing until you showed up. I did little but train and feel sorry for myself for those two years."

Link's glances outside became more frequent. "Should we go now, before it gets dark?"

"I'm ready," she said gravely. Grabbing their gear—gloves, sword, shield, Hero's Bow, and quiver for Link, and another bow and a bag stuffed with food for Saria—they began their journey with a long drink from the stream. The water chilled their teeth, but they bit back discomfort and drank as much as they thought the trip would demand.

They did not speak on the long walk, each occupied by his or her thoughts. Despite his conviction that finding the heart piece today would be best, Link grew anxious as they neared the site. Had he improved enough? He wielded his sword and bow with more dexterity, his mana reserve was less contemptible, and he had even grown a bit stronger physically, but there was always room for improvement. He still hadn't achieved anything remotely near Stan's strength or his proficiency with the sword, and Saria could still best him at archery, running, and especially magical ability.

The walk past the strange plant life that made up the Lost Woods reminded him that he was still very new to the world of magic. When they finally reached the building, it seemed taller and more foreboding than before, as though proclaiming that this quest was too big for him. The timeless quality that he noted during his first meeting with Saria appeared more grandiose than before, and he pondered over its architects. Whoever they were, Kokiri or goddesses, they were much more capable than he. He looked at his companion and tried to discern her thoughts from her mood. Sad but determined, she did not share his fear, and that made him feel better.

"The monster is surely very powerful by now, but other creatures have gone into the Temple as well to feed on the excess energy the monster is digging up. They fought fiercely against the other animals to get in there, so what we see inside will be the strongest and most ferocious beasts the forest has to offer. They will not obey me, even though I'm the temporary forest guardian. On top of that, once we defeat the monster, we have to get out as quickly as possible so the forest spirits we're saving don't destroy you. You are not of the forest, and if we take too long they will turn you into a Stalchild."

He gulped inaudibly. "All right. How do we get in?"

She reached for a branch on a tree next to the building and ascended. Link followed, believing there would be a door at the top, but when he reached her altitude she jumped to a branch on another tree and climbed higher. Link gasped in fright when she turned, thinking she was falling, but then she waved to him.

"Come on, it's fun! Just be careful!" A hint of playfulness entered her voice despite the seriousness of the situation.

He stared in disbelief at how nimbly she rose and wished he had incorporated tree climbing into his training. He jumped to the next tree, and only quick reflexes saved him from falling as he wrapped his arms around another branch. His momentum pressed the bark into his skin and he almost let go from the stinging, but he managed to swing back to his landing spot, arms scraped.

"Be careful!" she repeated from above, having seen his near-fall. "Shout if you need help!"

He struggled valiantly against the familiar feeling of inferiority as the equipment on his back weighed him down and caught onto various limbs. They leapt from tree to tree, climbing ever higher until finally the branch they stood on extended over a balcony at the top of the Temple. The vines engulfing the building did not cover the floor of this stone slab, and they landed without difficulty on its even surface. Before them a large doorway led into darkness.

"How will we see in there?" he asked. She removed an unlit torch from its hanging place on the wall next to the doorway and held it in front of him.

"Will you?" He focused mana into his right hand and held it over the torch until a small flame caught. "Thank you." She took the torch back. "I'll take the lead since I've been inside before."

Link readied his sword and followed her inside, leaving the oversized shield on his back. Waves of energy assaulted his mind, much more powerful than the energy he felt from the Lost Woods while training. It was too sporadic and powerful to be nurturing, and he wondered what beasts could possibly feed on it.

He received an answer when a Wolfos ran at them from the darkness beyond the torch's light. Link did not expect to run into trouble so soon and was caught off-guard, but Saria had apparently anticipated this. Focusing mana into a green sphere in her free hand, she threw it like one would throw a ball. It struck the beast in the face with an explosion of light, fazing it but doing only slight damage.

Nonetheless, the attack blinded it long enough for Link to regain his bearings, and he swung his sword horizontally across the thing's face. Its head jerked to the side and small bits of fur and blood flew. He planned to double back with a swing in the opposite direction, but he severely underestimated its speed and soon was flat on his back with the animal on top of him and its claws digging into his skin. But just when it bent its head down to take a bite out of him, a more powerful green sphere crashed into the Wolfos, and Link scrambled out from under it. Another sphere hit, accompanied by a feminine yell of fury, and Link put all his might into another swing. The Wolfos spun a little from the impact and fled the way it came until they no longer saw or heard it.

Shocked from his first fight, Link turned to Saria, who looked more incensed than he'd ever seen her. Her short green hair was no longer neat, but her furious expression quickly melted into one of concern.

"Are you all right?"

"That was…much bigger than the Wolfos I saw when I first came to the forest." He slowed his breathing, trying to calm himself, and she touched part of his skin that showed through the new hole in his tunic.

"You're bleeding."

Nervously, he shifted away from the contact. "It's nothing."

"Let me heal you. Don't flinch." She transferred a small bit of green energy from her fingertip into the wound, and soon ripped clothes and dried blood were the only evidence that he had been harmed.

"Wow…I don't even feel the stinging anymore. That's incredible! How did you do that?"

"It's just something I learned a while ago. Healing spells are useful."

"I'll say! Why didn't you show me earlier? Why didn't you practice with it when we were training?"

"Because to practice it, one of us would have to be hurt, and I couldn't bear seeing you hurt."

Saria didn't seem embarrassed by what she just admitted, but Link blushed. "L-Let's keep facing this way. The Wolfos is still around somewhere."

"Not likely. Wolfos are cowards, even ones that big. It knows we're tough, so we won't see it again. But there will be others. Now you know why I need help: my magic isn't exactly offense-oriented."

Saria held the torch and kept a magic orb ready in her free hand as an extra light. Link observed that the entrance placed them in a long hallway. Vines and plants he could not identify even if there were more light covered the floor, the walls, and even a large portion of the ceiling. Dead matter crumbled and broke noisily beneath their feet, but everything that still lived in the unweeded garden stubbornly refused to give passage, holding the interlopers back with layers of cords that rested above their ankles each time they stepped anew into the shin-deep mass. Walking became a grueling endeavor, and he wondered if he could start a fire with his magic that would remove the annoyance without burning Saria and himself.

A quiet rustling a few feet in front of them caught their attention, and they froze to listen, but it died with their movement. Link wondered if he had imagined it or if he had unknowingly caused it, and when he looked at Saria, she returned his wary expression. At the spot the noise came from, Link spotted the bulb of a flower much bigger than any he'd seen in Hyrule. Remembering the other oversized parts of the forest such as the Deku "Sprout", the stump that made Saria's house, and the very building they were exploring, he squatted closer to ground level, curious.

"Shine the light on it."

"We should keep going. We have to hurry."

"Just for a moment."

She obeyed, though whether reluctantly or not he did not know, for he fixed his stare on the bulb. In the light of the torch, he saw that it was a dark blue that he would not have been able to identify if the torch were any dimmer, and darker still were structures which looked like veins covering it. Link did not know much about flowers and especially didn't know much about flowers from the Lost Woods, but he could not remember ever seeing a plant that had veins.

The flower suddenly shot up toward his face. It stretched out to attack him, the large bulb separating into two and forming something like a jaw with sharp teeth. Saria and Link gasped, and he tripped over the vines on the ground while trying to back away. He saw inside its "mouth" what looked disturbingly similar to the flesh lining the roof of a Hylian's mouth, and when it reached out farther to try again he cut it with his sword. The large bulb stood on a comically thin vine, giving it the appearance of a deadly stick figure that would have amused him in other circumstances, and his heavy sword cut easily through the rigid vine, leaving the bulb to fall harmlessly to the ground and thrash horribly until Saria ended its life with a green blast.

"Are you hurt?"

Link's wide eyes did not leave the bulb. "What…_is_ this place?" he asked in a voice even smaller than his usual one. "That _flower_ just _attacked_ me."

"That was a Deku Baba. Don't worry; it's harmless."

Anything that fast and with that many teeth certainly didn't seem harmless to Link. He shook his head incredulously.

"Saria, this all may be ordinary to you, but I've never seen any of these things. Before we go any farther, can you please tell me what we can expect?"

"More Wolfos. There weren't any Deku Babas last time I came, but if there's one this far from the building's center, then there are sure to be more near the middle. There were a bunch of Keese last time I challenged the monster. When we get to that point, we'll have to pass through as quickly as we can and hope we don't get bitten. The monster is at the bottom room of the Temple. After we reach the end of this hallway, it will be difficult to get lost. All we have to do is keep going down."

Getting lost would be difficult, but he wondered if the same could be said of staying alive. He thought to ask if the Keese in the Lost Woods were larger than the ones in Hyrule before realizing she would not have seen any from his homeland.

"What does the monster look like?"

"It has long thorny vines that wrap around its prey and squeeze. The thorns pierce the skin and inject poison."

Link's heartbeat quickened. Fear consumed him, and even though there were no enemies nearby for the time being, he felt like he had when running from Stalchildren on his way to Castle Town, like he had been utterly foolish to come this far and would soon die for his stupidity. The image of his father beating him came back, and he stiffened.

"Link?"

"Let's go," he said, willing himself to stand and doing his best to ignore the memory along with thoughts of why it had suddenly resurfaced. He physically shook to keep his focus on the outside world, and they trudged on.

The same determination which carried him through training filled him, and he promised himself that no monster would catch him off-guard again. He held his sword not quite in a defensive pose, as doing that through the whole building would be tiring, but in such a way that he would be ready to fight at a moment's notice. The erratic pulses of energy frustrated his concentration, but he examined all his surroundings as he walked, knowing that in a place with such bizarre creatures as giant attacking flowers, he needed to be ready for anything.

He noted with guilty satisfaction that his partner moved cautiously as well. The carefree ease she showed in the forest was gone. Her steps were now chary and timid like his were, like his had always been, and it allowed him to fancy that they were equals, at least for the moment. He knew this thought had no merit, but he embraced it regardless, for it brought him confidence he knew he would need. Already evidence piled up that he had no idea what he was doing.

He felt proud when he struck down a second Deku Baba. Disguised among the rest of the undergrowth, it sprang up directly in front of them and attacked without warning. It surprised him, but remembering his experience sparring with his father and Stan, he struck quickly out of fear and instinct, exploding with the extra strength he felt from not having trained today. They kept going, vanquishing Deku Babas as they appeared. Through unspoken agreement, Link led and did most of the fighting so Saria could conserve mana. At length another Wolfos came running down the hallway, and they tensed briefly before paling, for two more followed it.

As the trio of beasts bounded toward them, Link realized they were even bigger than the one from before, and their more frightening aspects seemed exaggerated—enhanced, he guessed, by the energy they had been feeding on.

"I'm casting Nayru's Love. Get your bow out!"

Knowing the effect of the spell she used during training to give him a "punching bag," Link leapt within range of her spell and dropped his sword, rushing to remove the Hero's Bow from its place on his back. Saria set the torch upright in a small space between plants, for she needed both hands for this, and just as the Wolfos closed in, her body glowed a lustrous blue very different from the emerald shade that he had come to associate with her and her magic. A shell of the blue mana enveloped her and expanded until it shielded both her and Link.

The animals snarled and swiped at the shield with no effect. Saria endured each hit that tore away a chunk of her mana until Link told her in a word to release the spell. She did so, and he fired an ice arrow into a beast's face. The target fell to the ground, and the other two creatures backed away with a yelp. Saria pressed their advantage by hurling green spheres, and Link shot another ice arrow that brought down the second Wolfos. The remaining one retreated.

The hall became brighter before they could express relief, and loud staccato pops from exploding ashes informed them that the torch had fallen over and ignited the undergrowth. Panicking, he fired an ice arrow at the small area that had been consumed, and both breathed relief when the flames died, even as total darkness fell on them. After a period of groping around blindly, they recovered and relit the torch.

Saria quickly caught her breath from her short period of exertion, but Link mentally swore at how winded he had already become from just three magic attacks. He had done more in training before losing control of his breathing, so why did he feel this way now? He could partly blame the pulses of mana which swept through him in this cursed building, but he knew his inexperience lay at the heart of the problem.

His father's words reverberated in his mind: "Fear has its uses: it can prevent you from acting foolishly. But in battle you must discard it and all other emotions, for they will only bring you closer to your opponent's sword." Doubt assailed him once more. As much as he had practiced and trained under his father, he still had trouble putting that doctrine into practice.

"I'm already getting lightheaded," he said, trying to keep worry from entering his voice. "Can you heal that?"

"No. That's an effect of mana depletion, and I can't restore your mana. I can only heal physical injury." Link put away the bow in favor of his sword, and the pair waded through the plants. "We're almost at the end of the hallway. It opens up into a huge dome, the center of the Temple which connects all the rooms. We need to climb down to the bottom. Just follow me quickly when the time comes, and be careful; there could be something waiting for us." Presently, Link saw that the walls ended but the ceiling kept going. "Go!"

His feet became tangled as he ran, but he followed Saria's sprint. Gathering mana into her free hand, she threw several attacks directly ahead of her—to scatter potential enemies, he guessed. When he left the hallway, the numerous Wolfos and other monsters on either side of him confirmed his guess. Fortunately, the vines on the ground thickened and became great roots he could run on without tripping, and he needed no prompting to do what he did best: run.

The ferocious animals, likely here because of all the noise he and Saria made in the undergrowth, were momentarily stunned by Saria's attack as she ran by, but they seemed to recover just as Link's turn came. His fear at the realization of how many there were and how few he recognized increased his speed. One monster resembling a deformed but muscular Hylian with a snout and shoulder armor thrust a pointed spear at him, but he flinched away when he heard its wielder's grunt and the weapon scraped harmlessly along the great shield on his back. A Wolfos slashed at him and hit, but Link kept going, too caught up in fleeing for his life to register the pain from the new wound.

After using his sword to shove aside a Wolfos, they arrived at the edge of a great precipice. The roots he ran along—and all the other vines covering the ground under the monsters, as well—poured over the edge like a waterfall. Saria turned and made a little hop off the edge, catching them and using them to guide her descent. Link had no time to wonder if it was safe or how far down they had to go. He duplicated her actions, not taking the time to put his sword away for fear of giving his foes enough time to attack. They climbed down quickly, Link looking up in anticipation of something jumping down after them, and he was so focused his attention that he didn't notice the myriad high-pitched squeals or the beating of small wings until the swarm of Keese closed in on them.

A sharp yell from Saria as they reached her first warned him, but he had no way to defend himself as he held desperately onto the vines and his sword. He wanted to shrink into himself as he had always been able to do when he wanted to avoid people, but he had nowhere to hide. They flew around him, biting his arms and legs mostly but also tearing at his long hair. In great pain and afraid that his thrashing would break his handholds, he climbed down rapidly until he was level with Saria. He hoped she would use Nayru's Love until he realized she needed her hands free to use that. They madly descended what he estimated to be five stories until at last the swarm became so great that their struggling tore the vines from the wall.

Then they fell. Link tossed the sword away from them and prepared for a painful landing, which greeted him as his feet slammed into a dirt floor with absurd force and he toppled over onto his back, various edges of his gear pressing into him.

Darkness fell over them once more. "Ow…" Saria moaned somewhere to his left.

"Saria! Are you okay?" He did not think he could move his legs, but he shielded his face with his arms in case the Keese followed. Nothing came.

Several more pained noises told him she was moving about. "Link, I found the torch. Where are you?" Simultaneously, they created a dim light in their hands with magic and found each other. Link saw from the tears and the trembling that the impact had hurt her just as much as him. But then her legs glowed bright green, and when the light died she dried her tears and stood like nothing had happened.

"Do you need healing too?" He nodded, and once she finished he sat up and relit the torch. Nonetheless, he did not stand. "What's wrong?"

He wanted to yell that almost dying tended to make him an emotional mess, that he didn't know how they would have the strength to climb back up the cliff when they wanted to leave, that he suspected only worse things awaited them wherever Saria would lead next, and that the memory of his father refused to leave him alone, but he just trembled.

"Link? Please answer me. I'm getting worried…do you need me to heal some other part of you?" He still could not find a means of speaking, so he shook his head. In his mind's eye, his father reprimanded him fiercely and endlessly. A minute passed, and Saria placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched away, but she persisted. "Link," she said, voice suddenly stern. "I know you're afraid right now, but I am too. Come on. All that's left is the monster at the end of the next hall."

"I-I…" The beatings in his mind became louder and more vivid.

"I will not let you fall apart like this. Unless we kill the monster, the forest will soon die, and I will not let that happen! I must kill this plague! Please get up! There's only one more trial left!"

Her harshness surprised him, and, inspired, he did as commanded, willing his fear away to the best of his ability. To his relief, he felt only a little bit of pain in his legs as she led him down a corridor, and he predicted it would go away in a day or two.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," she said in her usual voice. He stared into her eyes and found to his astonishment that she really was just as scared as he and had not suffered any less: small bits of blood stained her clothes, and small bite marks covered her arms the same as his. "Ready your bow. The monster is in the next room." She must have seen the fear reenter his eyes, for she stopped him and placed her hands on his shoulders. He was reminded of how this situation had been reversed when they first met. "Please focus," she begged. "I need you for this. I'm not like you. I can't use a sword: once I run out of mana, I have no other way to fight. My bow's not as well-made as yours and won't do much good."

Remembering the promise he made a month ago to help her, he gently grabbed her wrists and hoped his eyes showed even a fraction of the determination he tried to convey. "I'm ready."

The pulses of energy soon tested his willpower, for closer to the monster they were even stronger than they were in the rest of the building. He cradled his head but flashed Saria a reassuring smile when she glanced worriedly at him. Entering a large room with unlit torches on the wall—the only area with torches they had encountered so far, Link noted as he resolved to ask her about that another time—Saria touched their torch to each of the others to light them, and Link's smile vanished as the room lit up.

"That's where the energy is being dug up," she whispered, pointing to a bulb in the middle not unlike that of a Deku Baba but far bigger. Easily quadrupling Link's height, it was as round as it was tall and had incredibly thick veins. Long vines with thorns the size of fists wrapped around it like chains, keeping it closed.

"Those veins are pulsing with the energy waves," he whispered, not knowing why they were being quiet until he heard soft voices.

"Hylian…"

"Outsider!"

"Everyone who enters the Lost Woods becomes a Stalchild. Will you…too?"

"Eee hee hee!"

They came from everywhere, voices of the spirits they were trying to rescue, and the pressure on his mind increased. Link gasped and fell to his knees, feeling like his head was about to burst.

"Link! That thing is the cause of all this! Burn it!"

He stopped clenching his hair just long enough to create the most powerful fire arrow his skill level allowed, and he shot it into the bulb. A flame caught. The monster's vines straightened into the air and released their hold on the bulb, which opened its enormous jaw and let out an inhuman screech the likes of which he had not heard since Stan's fight with the Poe. It echoed through the chamber, piercing his ears and adding to his already unbearable headache.

The voices did not stop as he had hoped. It apparently did not matter that he was here to save them, for they tortured him just the same as before, rendering him immobile as a long vine shot out at him. Saria cast Nayru's Love and yelled at him to shoot another arrow, but it took too much of Link's strength just to resist the effect the spirits' words had on him. They spoke as one with a strange accent using words he did not know, and their chant seemed to boil his flesh. He imagined that soon it would melt off, leaving only his skeleton.

The thick vine pounded against the shield repeatedly, and three more vines joined in. Saria struggled to keep the bubble intact, and her breathing became labored. She yelled once more for him to get up, and just as the shield broke Link managed another fire arrow. The flame that had already caught spread to a larger area of the bulb, and the creature screeched again, withdrawing its vines as though in pain. Link did not know how a plant could feel pain, but he didn't know how one could attack people or scream either. He took advantage of its weakness to shoot several weaker fire arrows into imaginary targets spread along the bulb's surface, but then a vine launched itself at him.

Saria and Link dove in opposite directions just before it passed through the space where they were standing, and Link realized his mistake of separating from her too late. Another vine came for him, and without her magic to rely on, he had no defense from it. He was dimly aware as he dodged and crawled that she was also being attacked and that she was using Nayru's Love. He ran to get closer to her.

"The living dead!"

"You will be a wretched immortal soon!"

"Your soul belongs to the woods!"

Somehow he managed to fight through the mental strain and shoot one last fire arrow that made the monster recoil again, but then he realized to his horror that he had become extremely lightheaded. He had no more mana, and a missing weight on his back told him he was out of arrows too. He drew his only remaining weapon just in time to see Saria's shield fail and watch her take a dizzy step with her crude bow. The bulb was locked in a perpetual scream, consumed in flames that licked the ceiling, but it still launched a vine at her.

He watched, terrified, as she fought. He watched the stubborn expression in her eyes, the refusal to give up even though her arrows had no effect. A single thought entered his mind as it was being torn apart by the curse and the forest spirits: she was just as scared as he. She was just as bloodied and beaten and tired, but she did not give up. She was doing this for something other than herself, for her love of the forest.

The vine retracted briefly before launching at her again, and he knew she would not be able to dodge this time. For one instant out of a month of mental torture, he had a moment of perfect clarity. The image of his father beating him vanished completely, and he ran forward, sword drawn. He yelled in defiance of the curse, of the spirits, of the fire that spread through the rest of the plant life in the room, of the monster that was trying to kill them. Saria. That was all that mattered right now. Not him, not his pain, and certainly not his stupid fears.

Still running, he swung the blade against the vine, cutting it in two before it reached her. Saria, having had a near-death experience, seemed suddenly paralyzed by fear now that he wasn't. He used his momentum to grab her and run, hoping to escape into the hallway with her, but another vine attack meant for her whipped his shield, sending them toppling over. Before they could get up, a vine wrapped around him and squeezed, lifting him high off the ground. No pain he'd ever endured compared to what he felt as thorns pierced his stomach and sides. The bulb's extension crushed him to such an extent that he wondered if the thorns on opposite sides of his body were touching.

Saria recovered her senses. "Link!" she screamed, but could do nothing more. He stared down at the bulb the vine was bringing him closer to, at the flames, at the dozens of sharp teeth, but just before he hovered over the open jaw, the vine went limp and he fell painfully to the ground. She rushed to him, removed the thorns, and with tremendous effort dragged his bloodied form into the hall away from the fire. The monster screamed no more.

She set him against the wall before collapsing on top of him, hugging him and crying. The roar of the inferno drowned out her sobbing, though now that he thought about it, he couldn't hear the inferno well either.

"Are you all right?"

He wasn't sure if that was what she asked, but he nodded. More tears streamed down her face.

"I'm so relieved…when those thorns pierced you, I thought you were done for, but I guess they weren't poisonous after all."

He wanted to return the hug she was giving him, but didn't have the energy. A deep sleepiness possessed him. The heat from the fire did not bother his throat as much.

"It wasn't easy, but we did it…thanks to you." When she heard no response, she eyed him more critically. "Link?" His vision swam. He heard her voice but could not respond. His eyes closed. "Link?! No! Wake up! I won't lose you! Not again!" The rest of her words were lost as he passed out.


End file.
